Kuroi Kage VS Konoha Shinobi
by Tiro
Summary: Sequel to Chibi's accident, now completed with the Epilogue.
1. Ch 1: Back to Konoha with the gang

**Kuroi Kage VS. Konoha Shinobi**

Tiro here, not so long since you last saw me. Here is the sequel to "The Chibi accident and Kakashi's discovery". One of my readers, **arkard**, seemed to want a sequel and as I wanted to continue writing about their lives, who am I to complain? So here arkard, enjoy the sequel!

**Pairings**: KakIru, GaaNaru and SasukeKankuro.

**Summary**: The peace in Konoha is about to be destroyed. Who are the Kuroi Kage, and what is their purpose? Do they want the Jinchuurikis in Konoha, or do they want more than that? What will the shinobis in Konoha do to protect those they love?

"Talking"

'_Thinking'_

"_Talking in minds" _(Naruto and Gaara whenever they talk to Kyuubi or Shukaku in private or in this case, when Hoshigaki Kisame speaks with someone telepathically)

"**Demons talking"**

-

**Chapter One: Back to Konoha with the gang**

A quiet morning in the middle of a forest is always a beauty to watch. The birds slowly woke up from the slumber and declared the new day with a thrilling song. The sun that made the sky burn in yellow, orange and red rose from the hills and cast small shadows amongst the trees. One or two animals crossing a clearing, unseen and no threat.

But this morning was different. The forest was quiet. No birds sang. No wind made the leaves dance. No movement was made. Entering a clearing, the morning before so peaceful, you will see why the forest was quiet.

Corpses of men and women. Dried blood had coloured the grass. Children splattered open. Lifeless eyes turned towards the sky, mouth open in a dying scream. This was not a new sight for the shinobi standing just a few feet away. This was something becoming more and more normal for him. Unfortunately.

The shinobi was around 170 centimetres tall, and he had beautiful blonde hair to his waist. Blue eyes tore away from the sight and one slim hand covered his mouth. The smell of coppery blood was not appealing either. One-handed he made some seals and the clearing burst into black flames, licking the corpses and turning them into ashes.

The shinobi turned away and walked back to his companion. The young man was quite unique looking, if you took a second look at him. He wore a white trench-coat that ended by his ankles. The arms widened from his elbows and stopped around his knees. Underneath was a fish-net shirt and black pants. Metal boots was secured on his feet. A katana was resting on his left hip, softly glowing red. A piece of clothing one his right hip, much like the one on Konoha Jounin Sarutobi Asuma only a bit longer, held a picture of a fox with nine tails. Small scrolls rested over that clothing, with sealed-away weapons.

Despite how he looked with his katana and the weapons sealed away in scrolls with blood seals, many said he looked like an angel when they took one look at him. At the second look, after he had finished his business with an enemy, they realized he was much like a demon. On his face was six birthmarks on his cheeks, making him look a bit fox-like. This shinobi's name was Uzumaki Naruto, currently 18 years old and a Jounin in Konoha. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. His hitai-ate rested against his collarbone, and was glimmering in the sun. He came to his and his companion's camp, and said:

"We're done here. Let's go home; Tsunade-baasan didn't want us out from the village for too long."

Green endless eyes met his blue and Sabaku no Gaara nodded to his lover and got up. Despite being 18 now, Gaara had changed little. His hair was as short as ever, and his tattoo was still there. The black around his eyes was not so visible anymore, but still there. He had his gourd on his back as usual and was almost one head taller than the blonde. His clothing had changed quite a bit though. Gone was the red trench-coat he had worn when he was younger. Now he was dressed in all black. He had a T-shirt under an open jacket in black with some golden threads. He had black, baggy pants and black sandals. He had a clothing similar to Naruto around his left hip, and on it was a raccoon.

Gaara walked over, stroke one whiskered cheek and said:

"How many this time?"

"Fifteen", the kitsune answered. "Gaara, six of them were children."

The redhead hushed him and gave him a kiss to his temple.

"They are in a better place now", Gaara said. "Let's go now."

Naruto nodded, and the two Jinchuurikis leaped away.

-

Konoha, later that day:

Hatake Kakashi was sitting by the front gate with Genma and Ibiki. The three of them were waiting for the scouts to return. Kuroi Kage was a new group that had started to corner the shinobi village, and the Godaime had sent out people to find where they had been.

The Copy-nin was waiting for his son and Gaara. The four others out was Akimichi Chouji with Nara Shikamaru and Anko together with Tsume and Kuromaru. Kakashi knew that both Naruto and Gaara was Jounins, that they could take care of themselves (better than he could take care of himself but that was unnecessary information), but he was a parent and therefore, very paranoid and protective. (**A/N** For anyone who wonders, Gaara is still a Suna shinobi. He just lives in Konoha) Genma was chewing on his senbon as usual and Ibiki twirled a kunai around his finger. Kakashi himself was reading a book Naruto had recommended.

Suddenly a flash of shadows came and the three of them jumped. Then Genma got up and said:

"Jeez, don't do that Shikamaru!"

The shadows disappeared and Shikamaru let go of Chouji's arm. The Akimichi grinned at the startled elders and said:

"Shika insisted on taking the fastest way."

"Lazy shinobi", Ibiki muttered. "Just like his father."

Shikamaru just grinned at the scarred man when Anko with Tsume and Kuromaru jumped down. Only a few moments after that a whirl of sand appeared and then fell to the ground to reveal Gaara. The moment after black flames rose from the ground, and with them, Naruto. Ibiki said:

"Anything?"

"Not in east or south", Anko and Tsume said:

"Nothing to west", Chouji said.

"Fifteen corpses in the north", Naruto said. "40 miles from here."

"They are coming", Tsume said.

"I'll tell Hokage-sama", Ibiki said and rose up. "Thanks and good work."

Kakashi smiled at Gaara and Naruto as they made their way to him. Naruto sat down on the ground next to him with a tired sigh.

"Iruka had some light lunch for you guys since he had a free day from the academy today", the Copy-nin said.

"Dunno if my stomach can take that", the blonde said. "I can still smell blood."

"We'll figure something out", Kakashi said.

Gaara bent down and whispered something to Naruto as the older shinobi got up on his feet. When he stole a glance at them, he only smiled. Gaara was currently devouring Naruto's mouth, not that the blonde complained, and there was a string of saliva when they parted gasping for breath. Naruto's eyes flared red for a moment as Kyuubi wanted more.

"No molesting in front of me!" Kakashi said with a fake commanding voice, making Gaara and Naruto laugh. "C'mon, Sasuke and Kankuro are at our place right now. Don't wanna miss them now, want we?"

"They're back from Suna?" Naruto said as he was hauled to his feet. "Finally!"

He raced off, leaving the two others alone. Gaara broke the silence:

"They've only been gone for one week…"

"Well… you know Naruto."

"… Forgot that."

"Don't we all…"

With that, they hurried their pace to catch up with Naruto.

-

Itachi was sitting on the porch to the house he had begun calling second home, lost in thoughts, when Naruto suddenly jumped down in front of him. To say the Uchiha was surprised was an understatement.

"What the hell?! Are you trying to give me a heart-attack?!"

Naruto looked at the Uchiha. He had a long-sleeved shirt in black with grey baggy pants. The Uchiha crest was on the back of his shirt, currently hidden under his black cloak. His black hair was longer than before and reached almost to his waist, and he had stopped having the Sharingan activate at all time. Now it was rare to see him with the Sharingan on.

"Hello to you too Itachi", the blonde said with a wink. "When did you and Kisame get back?"

"Late last night", Itachi said and sat down on the porch again as he had gotten up by reflex. "Kisame is still asleep."

"Here, or at Uchiha manor?" Naruto said.

"I don't want him to sleep alone in Uchiha manor, so he's here", Itachi mumbled and looked at the door.

Naruto softly smiled and with a pat on the Uchiha's head, which earned him a half-hearted glare, he went inside. Only to be attacked by one Uchiha Sasuke.

"S-Sasuke!"

"Why the hell did Tsunade-sama send you and Gaara out when she knew that Kuroi Kage was interested in demons, huh?!"

"Sasuke, cut it out!" Naruto heard Kankuro say. "You've been ranting about it for hours!"

"Well, I'm just voicing my opinions", Sasuke mumbled so only Naruto could hear while making sure that the blonde kitsune was alright.

"Thanks Sasuke", Naruto said. "We're fine though."

"Crazy old hag", the younger Uchiha muttered and patted Naruto's hair absently.

"Hey that's my line", the kitsune said and pouted.

"Welcome back", Iruka said and gave him a small hug. "Hungry?"

"Not really", the smaller man answered. "Thirsty though."

Iruka smiled at him once more before moving into the kitchen again. Sasuke had finally released him and they walked into the kitchen.

The Uchiha still have a navy-blue shirt with wide arms, but this time the Uchiha crest was on his back. He had black baggy pants that ended right below his knees with bandages wrapped around his legs. His battle sandals were back in the hall, so he was currently barefoot.

Naruto came in and with a fast movement was up on the table in front of Kankuro. The puppeteer glanced up at him from his book and then said:

"Missed us?"

"Yeah!" Naruto chirped. "What'cha reading?"

"A book Chiyo-baasama lent me about puppet-making", Kankuro replied.

The puppeteer had a white shirt on and black baggy pants. Naruto took off his hitai-ate and slipped out to put it in his room. He then took off his trench-coat, leaving him only in the fish-net shirt and moved out as he heard the door open and the Copy-nin's voice together with Gaara's and Itachi's. Naruto stopped outside the guestroom and slowly opened it. Kisame laid on his side facing the door. The man did not speak much, as the wound Hidan had given him never fully healed. He could speak for around 15 minutes before his throat started to hurt, and preferred to speak with people in their mind. But the blonde had a small hunch that Kisame and Itachi did not need speech, aloud or in the mind, to understand each other anymore.

Kisame moved and Naruto tiptoed away. Itachi came walking and the kitsune said:

"I think he's waking up."

Itachi nodded, and Naruto grinned. The Uchiha probably knew that already.

-

Tsunade leaned back on her chair as Ibiki finished.

"North huh", she said. "I want to prepare everyone for this. We need to get tighter security and make sure Naruto and Gaara is safe. As for safety, is the rumours true of what they want more?"

Ibiki nodded and said:

"It's confirmed now."

"They are greedier than Akatsuki", the Godaime said and rubbed her eyes. "Not only they want the Jinchuurikis, they also want the eyes of Uchiha and Hyuuga."

"Should we alert the Hyuugas, the Uchiha brothers and Kakashi?"

"Of course", Tsunade said. "I'll go to Itachi, Sasuke and Kakashi, you seek out Hiashi. Make then sure that all Hyuugas are safe. I think Neji should return from a mission soon; get him to stay with his team or go directly to Hiashi."

"Understood."

-

Shikamaru sat on a roof, silently staring up at the clouds. He had shred off his Jounin vest and was now sitting in a black T-shirt and normal ANBU pants. He sighed and fell back onto the vest and curled up with his head resting on his arms.

"Didn't I tell you not to fall asleep outside?"

He looked up at Chouji and said:

"I'm not asleep… yet."

"I was waiting for that 'yet' you know", the bigger teen said and sat down. "You always fall asleep, even when not intended."

"Can't help it", the lazy teen mumbled and sat up with a yawn.

Chouji offered some chips to the brunette, and Shikamaru took some and munched on them. He laid back on the vest and studied the clouds for a few moments before curling up again and closing his eyes. After a few minutes he slurred:

"Chouji, I'm falling asleep…"

The Akimichi looked at his friend, and chuckled. The Nara was really cute sometimes.

"It's okay", Chouji said. "You can fall asleep while I'm here."

Shikamaru nodded and let the sun warm his skin. He squirmed around on the spot but calmed down as a hand landed on his hip, stilling him. Chouji rubbed the hip with his thumb and heard Shikamaru sigh in contentment.

"Sometimes I wonder if you really are a Jounin", Chouji said.

"Shut up", Shikamaru said feebly. "I got a Jounin vest don't I?"

"Doesn't mean you are one", the Akimichi said with a smirk.

"Troublesome…"

Chouji laughed and Shikamaru squirmed a bit more before settling down and taking a nap.

-

Shino was sitting on the academy roof, looking at the children that were playing. He heard a soft 'thump' behind him as someone jumped down but made no indication to move.

"There you are", a voice rumbled and he knew who is was in an instant.

Kiba flopped down and grinned.

"Been looking for me?" the Aburame said.

"Not so long, but yeah", the Inuzuka answered.

"What for?"

"Hinata suggested a lunch while I visited her on the hospital and we wanted to be a whole team for once."

Shino tilted his head up and stared at the sky. Then he said with a slight smile:

"Not a problem to me."

Kiba lit up and stood up before offering a hand to his friend. Hinata worked as a medic-nin on the hospital while both Kiba and Shino were Jounins. Thanks to that it was hard to meet each other all three at the same time, but now they were lucky as the Inuzuka and the Aburame had a free day and Hinata a long lunch hour.

Shino grabbed the hand and got up.

"Where's Akamaru?"

"Waiting with Hinata", the Inuzuka said.

Shino nodded and they leaped off, unaware about the children looking at the two Jounins in awe as they watched them jump away.

-

Team Gai had for the first time in a long time joined together on a mission. It had been simple and there had been no problems. The problems started once they got home.

They were met by Ibiki, who took Neji aside and whispered urgently to him. The Hyuuga had become white and stared at the scarred man. Gai finally spoke up:

"What's wrong Ibiki?"

"Kuroi Kage has left their sign 40 miles to the north", Ibiki said and they froze. "And we have confirmed that they want, beside the Jinchuurikis, the eyes of the Uchihas and the Hyuugas. We have to make sure nothing happens to any of them. Can I trust you keep Neji safe?"

"Of course!" Lee said and Ibiki smiled, relieved.

Neji was not aware he lost his balance until he was caught by both Lee and Tenten. Ibiki looked at Gai and said:

"There will be tighter security and preparations for a battle. But for today, keep Neji close to you. Tsunade-sama gave me an order to make sure Neji was going to be alright."

"We'll stay with him", Gai said. "Don't worry."

"I know", Ibiki said. "Take care; I must warn the others as well. I'll tell Hiashi-san where you are, okay Neji?"

The Hyuuga nodded and Ibiki leaped off. Lee looked at the pale-eyed man and said:

"Don't worry Neji, it's gonna be okay."

The Hyuuga nodded once more, not trusting his voice. Gai came and said:

"Let's go. I'll report to the Tower while you guys go to Lee's and Neji's apartment."

The three younger nodded and they leaped off.

-

Ino and Sakura were having lunch at Ichiraku for a change. Sakura worked as a medic-nin while Ino was a Chuunin, currently working in the Academy. The pink-haired was lost in dreams including her and her boyfriend Lee. Ino snickered at her friend and shook her head. It was really fun being friend with Sakura, now that both had grown up much more. The fact Sasuke hooked up with Kankuro had helped to restore their friendship, and Ino had not been late thanking the raven for that.

"Sakura", Ino said with a sing-song tone.

"What?" the medic-nin said.

"You're far away", the blonde said. "Having naughty dreams?"

"N-No!"

The blush on Sakura's face, however, said that she was indeed having naughty dreams.

"You're almost as Jiraiya-sama!" Ino said.

"I am most certainly not!"

"Yes you are!"

"No I'm not!"

Teuchi listened to the bickering with a shake on his head; here they go, yet again…

-

It was quiet in the living room after Tsunade left. The two Jinchuurikis had retreated to the armchair by the window, Naruto in Gaara's lap. The redhead was toying with Naruto's hair, eyes staring blank into the wall opposite him.

Sasuke sat with Kankuro's side pressed into his chest on the sofa. The puppeteer wisely said nothing as he felt Sasuke's hands, that were doing the same thing as Gaara, shake a bit.

Itachi had stared blankly at Tsunade, and then retreated back to the guestroom and Kisame.

Iruka and Kakashi stood by the doorframe that led into the kitchen, Kakashi's arms tightly around the brunette.

Finally Naruto spoke:

"Here we go again…"

Tbc…

See, sequel! Yay! I think it's gonna be fun writing this one. Dunno how long it'll be, probably just a few chapters and then finishing with a last chapter when they're even older.

Next chapter will be most about the preparations of the village and a lot of talking. We'll get to know what the other Hidden Villages liked when Konoha could claim all the money of the Akatsuki and then the decision when Gaara moved into Konoha. What were the reactions that Konoha had during a few weeks become filthy rich and suddenly inhabited not just one, but **two **Jinchuurikis? Look forward to it!

Until then,

Ja,

Tiro


	2. Ch 2: What happened in the past?

**Kuroi Kage VS. Konoha Shinobi**

Chapter two here, enjoy.

**Pairings**: KakIru, GaaNaru and SasukeKankuro.

**Summary**: The peace in Konoha is about to be destroyed. Who are the Kuroi Kage, and what is their purpose? Do they want the Jinchuurikis in Konoha, or do they want more than that? What will the shinobis in Konoha do to protect those they love?

"Talking"

'_Thinking'_

"_Talking in minds" _(Naruto and Gaara whenever they talk to Kyuubi or Shukaku in private or in this case, when Hoshigaki Kisame speaks with someone telepathically)

"**Demons talking"**

_Flashback _(In flashbacks, both _'Thinking' _and _"Talking in minds" _can be used)

-

**Chapter Two: What happened in the past?**

Tsunade sighed as she signed yet another paper. It was close to nightfall but she had lots of work to do. She heard Shinobis racing through the village, strengthen their walls or just checking so no suspicious had entered.

The Godaime leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes. It had been five years since they had defeated the Akatsuki, five years since they became the richest Hidden Village. Five years since so many greedy leaders in the other villages had become almost outrageous as they had collected the money for the criminals they had killed. She chuckled at the memory. And then when they found out that Suna's Jinchuuriki lived in Konoha, man what a chaos they made!

The leaders in Mist, Cloud and Rain had demanded that she would send Gaara back to Suna immediately. Tsunade pinched her nose at that memory. Though it had been fun seeing their faces as she said Gaara and Naruto were together, the discussions after that had been bothersome.

A knock on the door woke her up from her thoughts and she called to let in whoever it was. Shizune opened the door and said:

"I brought some tea."

"Thank you", the Hokage said.

The apprentice put the tray down and said:

"The preparations are going well, Tsunade-sama. We should be ready within a few days."

"Good", Tsunade said. "I'm won't let them take what they want."

"How did they all take the news?"

"Fairly well", the Godaime said. "The Hyuugas has been targeted before, and so has Naruto and Gaara but Itachi, Sasuke and Kakashi took it better than I thought they would."

"I hope they'll be fine", Shizune said and looked outside.

"We're talking about people who has fought many strong people before", the Hokage said. "They'll be fine. And if they are indeed in any great danger, Kuroi Kage has to get through most of our other shinobis to get to them."

-

Itachi sat by Kisame in the guestroom. The tall man had woken up, but had been persuaded by the Uchiha to sleep a bit longer.

Itachi bent forward a bit to put a hand on Kisame's chest. It rose and sank underneath his palm in a steady motion, calming his nerves. Kuroi Kage wanted their eyes. His eyes. Sasuke's eyes. Even Kakashi's eye. He let his body relax and breathed with his partner. Kuroi Kage wanted eyes that would be useless to them. What a joke…

-

Sasuke threaded his hands through Kankuro's short hair absently as he stared out the window. His shaking had subsided, but he had yet to speak a word. The puppeteer snuggled a bit into Sasuke's chest, trying to give the younger Uchiha some comfort. While the outer Sasuke was quiet and relaxed, his inner was in turmoil. Why did the Kuroi Kage wanted their eyes? Even if they obtained the Sharingan, the eyes would be nearly useless. Kakashi had once told Sasuke that using his Sharingan eye was like sticking a kunai through the eyeball once every few seconds. Shortly said, it hurt like hell.

Only Uchihas could use Sharingan properly. So was also the case with the Hyuugas Byakugan and the two Jinchuurikis had such good control over their Bijus so would the group try convincing them all to join Kuroi Kage? Yeah, good luck on that one… Sasuke knew he would never betray Konoha. He knew no Hyuugas would, so with Gaara and Naruto. Kakashi would never do it either. Itachi… Sasuke already knew the answer on that question. His brother had wanted to revive Hidan just to kill him again for what he did to Kisame, so Sasuke knew the older Uchiha did not trust organisations like Akatsuki or Kuroi Kage anymore. Konoha had accepted him and Kisame like fellow shinobis, not as some prodigy and life-saviours. Kuroi Kage just wanted power, a thing Itachi despised the most and were against. If Itachi would join Kuroi Kage, there would be many surprised people in Konoha. Sasuke knew his brother never would though and tightened his hold on Kankuro. Why did he know? Because Itachi had told him so:

_Flashback__ (A few months earlier)_

_Sasuke sat on the porch and looked at the garden Iruka had arranged. It was filled with flowers near the house, and ended up to a training field at the furthest end. It was still early morning so the puppeteer was not up yet. Normally Sasuke would be asleep as well but he had dreamt that Itachi betrayed Konoha and massacred the whole household. This meant, he had slain Kankuro, Naruto, Gaara, Kakashi, Iruka and Kisame. He had let Sasuke live. It was like a reverse of the devilish nightmare when his family had been murdered. _

_Sasuke curled up and dropped his head on his knees. He had woken up and made sure everyone was alive. Then he had watched Itachi. The older Uchiha was asleep, having dragged and unresisting Kisame into his arms. The bigger man rested quietly in the crook of Itachi's neck. Sasuke shook his head for even thinking such thoughts and had retreated to the porch. So now he sat there as the morning birds began to sing when he should be in bed with his lover._

"_Something on your mind?"_

_Sasuke whipped around and came face to face with Itachi. The older man held out a cup of water to the younger and Sasuke accepted it._

"_You were into the guestroom", Itachi said. "Was it something special?"_

"_Just wanted to make sure my dream hadn't come true."_

"_What kind of dream was that then?"_

"_You… you had killed everyone."_

_Itachi looked at his brother in mild surprise. Then he sighed and said:_

"_You're still haunted by the memories?"_

"_Some of them are as real as you are now", Sasuke said. "Being with Kankuro has made them lessen though."_

"_If you are with someone you love, you can handle the pain and suffering easier."_

"_Is it why you like being with Kisame?"_

_Itachi smiled and spoke quietly:_

"_I love him as a friend and saw him for a family when I was in Akatsuki. If he would die my heart would die with him. That was back then though."_

_Sasuke looked at his brother who stared up in the sky and continued talking:_

"_Now I have so many people I love, and every one of them are shinobis. I'm terrified whenever you have been fighting and gotten hurt. My heart clenches every time someone penetrates Kankuro's guard. I jump whenever Naruto and Gaara do their stunts. Every time Kakashi falls down holding a hand over his eye, I want to remove his pain. When Iruka was hurt on a mission, it took Kisame hours to calm me down. But I wouldn't want it any other way."_

"_Why not?"_

"_Konoha is the place where I live", Itachi said, "but you guys are the place where I belong. I wouldn't give this up for anything."_

_End flashback_

Sasuke nuzzled his face into his lover's hair to hide his smile. Yes. Itachi would never betray them.

-

Chouji sat back a bit on the roof and relaxed slightly. He and Shikamaru had been put on this roof to guard the north wall. Well, Chouji was guarding. Shikamaru was… fast asleep. The larger man looked over to his friend and sighed. How the lazy genius Shikamaru got to Jounin-level was still a mystery to the Akimichi.

Currently the said Nara was lying on his side, face turned to Chouji. The larger man had unsealed a blanket he kept in a scroll and tucked the smaller man in.

Suddenly Shikaku jumped down on the roof and sat down silently next to his son.

"Your son is neglecting his duties", Chouji informed.

"Troublesome brat", Shikaku muttered before leaning in close to Shikamaru's ear and shouted: "I didn't raise you to sleep on your job!"

Shikamaru bolted up and scrambled away. He bumped into Chouji, nearly fell off the roof, and was caught by the Akimichi.

"I didn't mean you should try killing him for that", Chouji whined as he pulled Shikamaru back up.

The young Nara rubbed his ear and dragged the blanket closer before opening his eyes and saying to his father:

"Old man."

"Whiny brat."

"Shougi-loser."

"Hey! I only lose when I play against Naruto!"

Shikamaru yawned and curled up again. This time, with his head on Chouji's shoulder.

"Shika? My shoulder isn't a pillow."

"Shut it", Shikamaru mumbled. "Wake me if something happens."

In the next second he was out. Shikaku rubbed his head and said:

"Man… he's even worse than me."

-

Kiba and Shino were scouting the outer area of Konoha together with Tsume and Shibi. The two older ones had started in the south while the younger in north. When they were finished, they would go to the Godaime's head before heading to the Hokage in person to report.

Shino stopped on a branch and prepared to send out some bugs. Many things had changed on him over the years. He still wore his shades and his hair was still spiky, but other than that he had changed completely. He had a grey open jacket with a black T-shirt underneath and black ANBU pants with black sandals. He had broken the tradition of the male Aburames and wore no high collar jacket anymore. Kiba had finally said he looked not so freaky anymore.

Kiba himself was a bit different as well. He had as short hair as before and a fur-coat that reached to his knees. Unknown to Shino, it was made from the material of Kiba's first fur-coat, the coat Kiba had offered to the Aburame when he was cold. Underneath he had a net-shirt and grey baggy pants. The Inuzuka also had a scroll with an axe he used in battle.

Shino gently instructed the bugs where to go and they slowly descended from his skin. Kiba looked around, not feeling quite at peace without Akamaru. The white dog and Kuromaru was still in the village, looking after the younger animals the Inuzukas had. The dog had grown larger than Kiba and Shino, and now handled to carry them both on long travels.

After a few minutes, the bugs came back to Shino.

"Anything?" the Inuzuka said.

"No", Shino said. "Seems like they are careful."

"Okay", Kiba said. "Shall we continue then?"

Shino nodded and they leaped off again.

-

Neji and Lee were playing cards by the small coffee-table they had in the living room while Tenten sat on the couch with one of her weapons. The two shinobis had shared that apartment with each other for around two years. Neji always complained when Lee brought Sakura overnight though. He said they made too much noise, which always made the black-haired man blush.

Neji won again, and Lee said:

"You have to be cheating! No one can win six times in a row!"

"Well I can", the Hyuuga defended himself.

"Cheater…"

"Sore loser."

"Girl."

"Spandex guy."

Tenten sighed as she listened to her two teammates. Lee had stopped wearing spandex clothing not long after he and Neji had moved in but the Hyuuga still loved to tease him about it. Lee also loved to tease Neji for being such a girl. The only thing Neji had that resembled a girl though, was long hair and a slightly feminine body. Naruto was the same, and no one called him a girl.

"Lee", she said and he looked at her. "You need to find some better insults for Neji."

"Why? He looks like a girl."

"Naruto had long hair and a feminine body as well."

"But he doesn't look like a girl, or Neji", Lee said, and the Hyuuga's eyebrow twitched.

In the next moment, a kunai was imbedded in the floor right in front of Lee.

"Take it easy Neji!" the black-haired one said and held up his hands.

"You're impossible, spandex-boy", Neji sighed and the game was on once more.

Tenten slumped in defeat as Lee and Neji continued with their childish insults.

-

Sakura and Hinata were checking up on the hospital's supplies to make sure they had everything they needed for an attack. Hinata was a little more nervous, as Ibiki had come and explained everything. Sakura caught the Hyuuga heir's hand brushing near her eyes too many times.

"They aren't here yet", the pink-haired girl said.

"Huh?"

"The enemies", Sakura said as she put back the bandages she had counted. "Your hand betrays you Hinata."

"Oh", she said a little dumbfounded. "I guess… stupid isn't it? To worry about my eyes?"

"I don't think it's stupid", Sakura said. "Kuroi Kage are the stupid ones, thinking they can just take whatever they feel like."

Hinata smiled a tiny bit and put back the box with healing potions where it would be found easily. Her hair was now to her waist and put up in a braid. She wore the standard medic-nin clothing. She was a Chuunin and a good medic-nin. She thought her father would disapprove when she wanted to become a medic-nin but he had only encouraged her to do it. He had said himself when she had made it he was very proud of her.

Sakura looked to see if they had enough with materials if Tsunade would have to make some antidotes. Her hair ended right over her shoulder blades, and was currently put up into a simple pony-tail. She also had a standard medic-nin outfit.

"Everything's here", she said finally. "Let's continue."

"Okay."

-

Ino was currently correcting a homework the children had done while they worked on a test. She was covering Iruka's classes as well that day, since it had been a long time since he had taken a break. The blonde-haired girl had decided to become a teacher since she knew that being a Jounin was too much for her.

She looked over the class to make sure no one cheated. Now she understood Iruka's pain; children are worse than enemies. She wore a standard Chuunin outfit but her vest was open. Her hitai-ate was wounded around her arm and her hair was up tight into a bun. She returned to her grading with a sigh as she thought about Kuroi Kage. She hoped they would not come yet, since the village had yet to be prepared.

-

Gaara and Naruto sat out in the garden. Naruto laid on the grass, asleep. Gaara was just sitting with closed eyes as he thought about all that had happened. He remembered when the leaders for several villages had come here and started arguing because he lived in Konoha. They had said that one Jinchuuriki was enough in one village. The redhead had been upset about that; most people saw him and Naruto together with the other Jinchuurikis as mere tools for a village and not for humans. Tsunade had won though.

And then there was the fuss the Hidden Villages did when Konoha could collect money for the dead Akatsuki. Still today, Mist and Cloud was a bit sensitive on that subject. The others had more or less accepted it.

"What are you thinking on?"

Naruto's voice brought him out from his daze and he looked down on the blonde.

"Just the past", he answered.

"The past…" Naruto mumbled.

"Trying to remember the face the Mizukage made when Tsunade-sama told him we were dating", Gaara said and Naruto stifled a giggle.

"That was priceless!" the kitsune child said.

"His jaw was touching the floor, I'm sure of it", Gaara said with narrowed eyes as if he could see the man in front of him.

Naruto laughed and sat up. Gaara turned to the blonde and tugged on his hair. The blonde got the hint and moved closer. Gaara moved a bit and pushed his lips to Naruto's. The blonde fell back on the grass and the redhead followed. Naruto wound his arms around Gaara's neck and the redhead abandoned the blonde's lips in order to suck on his jaw. Naruto moaned and arched his back. Gaara laughed a bit and ran a series of kisses along Naruto's neck. Then he rolled over so that Naruto sat on top of him. The blonde whined and moved to kiss him. Neither of them noticed the brunette shaking his head from the kitchen window.

-

Iruka continued with the dishes.

"They look like love-birds to me", Kakashi said from his spot by the window.

"Don't look at them Kakashi, you pervert", Iruka said. "It's your son you're looking at."

"They look so cute together that's all."

"You say that about two 18-year olds with two horny demons inside??"

"Aah, Iruka has been taught pervert words!" the Copy-nin said with a smile.

"Oh you wish", Iruka said with a blush and threw a towel at the older man.

Kakashi leaned away as the towel came flying, slid down the windowsill before going to Iruka and snaked his arms around the brunette and said:

"Time goes fast. Soon they won't live here anymore."

"They will still remember us Kakashi", Iruka said. "Naruto still calls you Kaka-san at some occasions doesn't he? I think that's cute."

"Yeah, and he embarrasses the shit outta me", Kakashi whined. "That's what he loves."

"No", Iruka said. "When we speak about you, he always calls you Kaka-san. I don't think he's aware of it."

Kakashi snuggled into the Chuunin's neck and tightened his hold.

"Do you remember when the other Kages came and demanded that Gaara would move home to Suna?" the Copy-nin said.

"I was convinced that Kyuubi would come out and kill them all", Iruka said. "Then Naruto would revive them just so he could kill them again."

Kakashi laughed a bit and closed his eyes. It had been five years already. Naruto had grown up to a stronger shinobi than most in Konoha. Kakashi could not help but feel proud of him. Naruto had no parents that could be proud and show it, so Kakashi and Iruka had that role. And the Copy-nin would not want it any other way.

-

The night came too quickly for the shinobis' tastes but they had to move back into the village. Shino and Kiba were two of them. The bug-user had taken off his shades to see better and was currently sending out small amounts of bugs who would guard under the night. Kiba made sure Shino would not slip on any branches.

They finally came to the wall and stopped. Kiba sank down on the stone and sighed.

"I'm dead", he declared.

"It was just scouting", Shino said.

"My feet are dead", the Inuzuka complained.

Shino sat down next to his friend and coughed a bit. Kiba peered an eye at him.

"Told you", he said.

"Quiet."

"You can't go scouting for a whole day when you just recovered from a bad cold", Kiba said.

"Just quiet…"

"Crazy Aburame."

"Mother Inuzuka."

"Bug-lover."

"Dog breath."

"Shit, how do you always find the best insults?!"

"…"

"What?!"

"Do we really act like we are Jounins?"

"… No."

They both looked at each other and then laughed. Kiba leaned back and said:

"Mom would kick my ass if she saw me."

"That she would", a voice from behind them said.

Kiba jumped up and whipped around. Tsume sat on the wall just above Shino with a big grin.

"Or maybe not", she said. "She's too tired to deal with her brat."

"When did you get there?" the Inuzuka said.

"I've been here for a while", the woman said. "Your dad is on his way, Shino."

The Aburame made thumb-up and slumped against the wall.

"You too?" she said with a sympatric smile to Shino and he nodded. "Yeah, this day has been long."

"Too long", Kiba said. "And just the thought it will be the same tomorrow makes me wanna cry."

"Please don't", Tsume said. "You're living with Shino so he's the one who will suffer."

"Shino won't mind."

"I will."

"No you won't."

"Yes I will."

"Shut up."

"No."

"Damn Aburame."

"And proud of it too."

Kiba yelled, Shino grinned and Tsume laughed.

-

Chouji walked into his apartment and yawned. He was dead tired. He took off his sandals and got into the kitchen. He made rice with chicken quickly when it knocked on his kitchen window. He opened it and Shikamaru jumped in.

"Can't sleep?" the larger teen asked.

"No", Shikamaru answered. "I hate that place."

"Then why do you live there?"

"Cheap rent."

Shikamaru had moved into a small apartment near where Naruto had lived before. It had no heat or water, and the electricity was rarely on. So Shikamaru spent most of his time with Chouji. The Akimichi had told the lazy shinobi to just move in but Shikamaru had not done it yet.

Shikamaru walked to the couch and fell down on it. He threw off his sandals and Jounin-vest before curling up.

"Have you eaten?" Chouji called out.

"No", Shikamaru mumbled. "Don't have anything at home."

"Then sit up", Chouji said from his spot not far from the couch. "Or else I'll drop the food on you."

Shikamaru got up and yawned. Chouji put a bowl with rice and chicken into the lazy shinobi's one hand and a pair of chopsticks in the other.

"Eat up, put it in the sink in the kitchen and then go to bed."

"You sound like my mother", the Nara said.

"I do not", Chouji said. "Your mother would never have been that nice."

"True."

-

Hinata looked outside as she prepared to go to bed. Her father had asked her to spend the night in the Hyuuga mansion and to tell the truth, she would even had asked for permission if he had not asked. She looked around her room and smiled; Hiashi had let everything stay as she wanted and made sure the room was clean all the time.

She sank down on her futon and yawned. It was still not so late, but she was needed early on the hospital.

-

Sakura had met Ino for a late dinner before the girls had gone to their homes. Sakura was still living with her parents but sometimes went to Lee's and Neji's apartment. This day though she went straight home. Hinata had said team Gai was there, and the pink-haired did not want to interrupt.

Ino was living in an apartment together with another medic-nin, a 17-year old girl that was really jumpy. The blonde woman had almost gone crazy being home, but the younger had started doing better. Now the Chuunin only hoped she was allowed some sleep before the morning. She looked up at the dark sky and said quietly:

"I hope you guys will be careful tomorrow, Chouji, Shika even if it's just scouting. Or else I won't forgive you."

-

Tenten was asleep on the couch, curled up under a blanket Gai had given her. The said teacher sat on a chair, looking out at the moon. If others had seen him, they would have said he was oddly quiet. But he felt like this was not the time to fool around.

He tore his eyes from the moon and looked over at the other two in the team. Neji was lying on the floor, on his side, with a pillow and a blanket. Lee had draped one arm over the Hyuuga's waist loosely, and had a piece of Neji's hair clenched in his fist.

Gai chuckled and got up. He walked to the two of them, and crunched down. He carefully untangled Neji's hair from Lee's hand and the black-haired one woke up.

"Neji's gonna kill you if you rip off his hair", Gai said.

"Oh", Lee said and relaxed a bit. "I guess he would."

Neji suddenly turned and bumped right into Lee's chest. The Hyuuga squirmed and then settled down on Lee's shoulder.

"Sensei, help me!" Lee whispered.

"Why? You guys look cute like that."

"If Sakura will know this, she's gonna kill me because there is no picture of it!" Lee whined. "She always takes embarrassing pictures of me and Neji."

"She started with her team and their partner's and now starts with her own boyfriend and his friend?" Gai said and shook his head in amusement.

"That's not all", Lee said as he dragged the blanket up on Neji's shoulder.

"Not all?"

"She has even taken on Itachi-san and Kisame-san, and even on Shido and Kiba. Hinata also loves pictures like this."

Gai suddenly grinned and said:

"I suddenly remember I do have a camera."

"No, please don't Gai-sensei!"

"Not so loud, you'll wake up Neji."

"Sensei!"

"I'm sure Sakura will appreciate it."

Gai ran off to get it and Lee sighed. He looked down at Neji and said:

"She's gonna tease us to death for this… and it's all your fault, you girl."

As an answer, Neji burrowed deeper into Lee's shirt.

"O-Oi! Stop snuggling me, Neji!"

-

Kurenai and Asuma had the night watch and stood by the north gate. The man was smoking as usual while Kurenai watched the stars.

"Asuma?" she said suddenly.

"Yeah?"

"Do you think Tsunade-sama will keep the Hyuugas, Kakashi and the Uchiha brothers out from the battle?"

"Even if she wanted she can't", the man answered.

"Why not?" the red-eyed Jounin said.

"Because they will still fight."

Kurenai looked up at Asuma, and then smiled.

"Yes, they certainly would…"

-

Tsunade sat in her office with Jiraiya and Ibiki. The three of them were planning a few traps the shinobis would put out in the morning. She took the last of her tea and stretched. Jiraiya looked out for a moment and yawned. The man had not rested in days.

"Jiraiya", the Hokage said. "Take some rest now. Ibiki and I can finish this."

The Toad Sannin made no complaints, and soon walked out. Ibiki put his final touches and said:

"I will be going for my night watch then, Tsunade-sama."

"Good work."

Soon she was left alone in the office. She made the last paper done before falling asleep on the desk. Shizune came in and saw her teacher asleep. She silently huffed and brought out a blanket. She draped it over Tsunade's shoulders, put the papers in a neat stack before shutting of the lights and letting the Godaime rest.

-

Iruka shut off the lights in the house and looked in every room to make sure everyone was home. Then he entered the bedroom where Kakashi was sitting by the low table reading a book. They had changed the design of parts of the house to the old Japanese style. The bedrooms and guestrooms were in that style. The kitchen had remained the same though. They had divined the living room into two parts; a part with cosy sofas and arm chairs while the other was in traditional Japanese style.

Kakashi looked up when Iruka entered and said:

"Are they all sleeping?"

"Not sleeping, but they are all here", Iruka said and removed his blue shirt. "I'm so tired."

Kakashi closed the book and rose up. He embraced Iruka and kissed his shoulder.

"I'm too tired for even that", the brunette said with a slight smile but then had to bite his lip to keep inside the moan that threatened to come out as Kakashi carefully pinched his nipples.

Kakashi made sure that the door was closed and then whispered into Iruka's ear:

"Don't worry; I'll be gentle."

-

Kiba looked at his sleeping friend from his bed. The Aburame was exhausted and was coughing every now and then. The Inuzuka slowly rose up from the bed and went to the small kitchen to get a glass of water to the bug user.

He kneeled by Shido's futon and gently shook him. Shido coughed and opened his eyes.

"It's water for your throat", Kiba said and the Aburame sat up with a grimace.

Shido drank it slowly, pausing to cough and finally drained it. Kiba got some more and put it by the futon. Shido laid down and sniffed.

"You feel absolutely horrible or what? I can get a replacement for tomorrow if you want to rest", the Inuzuka said.

"We'll see", Shido said. "My throat is just irritated. I'm not sick."

Kiba just pulled the covers to the Aburame's nose and went back to his own futon. But after only a half-hour Shido began to cough again. Kiba kicked off the covers, and Akamaru lifted his head and whined.

"I can't sleep with the coughing", Kiba said to the dog.

He went to Shido and laid down behind the bug-user.

"Kiba?"

The Inuzuka pulled Shido around and hauled him up better in his arms. He let one hand rest on Shido's back and the other was buried in the bug-user's short hair. Shido tensed up only a few moments before melting into Kiba's arms.

"It's alright", Kiba said. "You just rest."

Shido closed his eyes and was soon asleep. Kiba heard Akamaru get up and sighed happily as the dog laid down just behind him and spread his big tail over the both men.

"Thanks Akamaru", the Inuzuka said and soon fell asleep as well.

The dog only snuggled closer and closed his eyes.

-

Lee had given into his fate. Now he had two teammates that had fallen asleep on him. Tenten, curled up with her head next to his and Neji, who was still snuggling with him.

'_What did I do to deserve this?'_

A moment later:

"Neji, stop doing that! Neji! Oi, Neji are you even listening to me?!"

And the only thing Gai could do was rolling on the floor in laughter.

-

Sasuke was rocking Kankuro back and forth as the latter had woken up by a rare nightmare. The Uchiha was stroking the sweat-matted hair and kissed the puppeteer's forehead. Kankuro breathed deeply and clutched onto the younger man.

"Sasuke…" he got out after a while.

A soft 'Hmm' by his ear made sure that Sasuke was listening.

"Please, you have to promise me", the puppeteer from Suna continued.

"Promise what?"

"That no matter what happens, you will survive."

Sasuke drew back a bit to look into Kankuro's eyes but the older one refused to meet the onyx eyes. The Uchiha smiled and tilted Kankuro's head his way and kissed him. Then he breathed against the man's lips:

"I'll survive. You will survive. Our family will survive. We're too damn stubborn to die."

Kankuro gave a shaky laugh and said:

"You're right. I don't know what I'm worrying about."

"Go back to sleep Kankuro", Sasuke said and massaged the puppeteer's shoulders.

The older man relaxed against the Uchiha's chest and was soon asleep. Sasuke laird back down and followed his lover not long after that.

-

Itachi gulped down the water in mere seconds and then rested his forehead against the glass. The same dream again. He had killed them. He had slain them all, and he had enjoyed it. Itachi moaned as the dream flashed pass his eyes. Naruto's face was forever etched into a look of incredible sorrow as one string of blood came from his mouth. Gaara's green eyes were wide-open in surprise. Kakashi crying over Iruka's dead body. Sasuke trying to keep the dying Kankuro alive. And Kisame. Kisame was just laying there, his dark eyes locked with Itachi's Mangekyo Sharingan. And then the one word that Kisame had said with his damaged voice:

"Why?"

Itachi snapped up his head and put down the glass. He almost ran back to the guestroom and slumped against the wall in relief when he saw Kisame sleeping. He pushed his dark hair from his eyes and crawled to the fish-man's futon. He sat down and just stared. After a while Kisame opened his eyes and looked up at Itachi.

"_What's wrong?" _came the familiar voice of Kisame inside Itachi's mind as the bigger man spoke.

"Nothing", Itachi whispered.

"_When you look like that, it's not nothing Itachi."_

"I just had a dream that made me a bit unsettled, that's all."

"_Unsettled?" _Kisame's voice said and the man raised an eyebrow. _"Then why does it look like you went to hell and back in your eyes?"_

Itachi looked down and said:

"Caught me… Um, I actually dreamed of… I dreamed I killed you guys. And for a moment I believed I had already done it."

Kisame sat up and looked at Itachi with tilted head. Then he smacked the smaller man over his head. The Uchiha clutched his head and said:

"What was that for, Kisame?!"

"Idiot…" Kisame's raspy voice said. "If you think like that, you won't be able to fight."

Itachi looked up at Kisame with wide eyes. Then he bowed his head as tears of relief started to fall. He took one of Kisame's hands and held it tightly.

"Kisame?" he said.

"_Yes Itachi-san?"_

"Thank you."

-

Gaara looked at the delicate blonde that was sleeping quietly next to him. The scent of sweat and sex still lingered in the air. A few strands of blonde hair still clung to Naruto's sweat-soaked skin. The pale skin almost shone in the moonlight and the redhead could not help but admire the man he held. When he had been younger, so young he had not even met Naruto, he had never held anyone before. First time he really held someone was when he hugged Naruto for the first time.

He laid down to get some rest and smiled as the blonde squirmed a bit. He heard a soft 'Ouch' and said:

"Did I hurt you?"

"You didn't need to push to hard", Naruto answered. "I'll have bruises on my hips tomorrow."

"Then it's good we don't have anything to do tomorrow."

"We have to help somehow."

"But not in the morning", Gaara said. "We'll let your body… recover, and then we go to Tsunade."

"Gaara, did Shukaku have anything to do with it today?" the blonde said.

"As a matter of face he had", the redhead said with a blush. "He insisted."

"That's why it burned so much", Naruto muttered. "Tell him to go easy on the chakra flood; I thought I was dying."

Gaara blushed even more and then smirked. He looked at Naruto, who held up his hands and said:

"Don't even try it."

"Come on, Tsunade-sama said herself we could rest _all_ day tomorrow."

Naruto had not time to response as Gaara attacked his lips and soon he lost the fight and gave into the pleasure Gaara gave him.

But… Man, his ass was going to hurt tomorrow.

Tbc…

* * *

Chapter two done! More perverted now; I had to show that they had a sexlife!

This chapter was only a bit about what had happened and then maybe it'll be some flashbacks but I don't find that necessary.

Chapter three will be about obviously the day after and maybe a few days ahead. No fighting in chapter three with Kuroi Kage; that's later on.

Look forward to it!

Ja,

Tiro


	3. Ch 3: Preparation for a Battle

**Kuroi Kage VS. Konoha Shinobi**

Chapter three here. Enjoy.

**Pairings**: KakIru, GaaNaru and SasukeKankuro.

**Summary**: The peace in Konoha is about to be destroyed. Who are the Kuroi Kage, and what is their purpose? Do they want the Jinchuurikis in Konoha, or do they want more than that? What will the shinobis in Konoha do to protect those they love?

"Talking"

'_Thinking'_

"_Talking in minds" _(Naruto and Gaara whenever they talk to Kyuubi or Shukaku in private or in this case, when Hoshigaki Kisame speaks with someone telepathically)

"**Demons talking"**

_Flashback _(In flashbacks, both _'Thinking' _and _"Talking in minds" _can be used)

-

**Chapter Three: Preparation for a Battle**

Naruto woke up to a stinging back and a throbbing feeling in his entire lower body. Gaara's semen still covered his milky thighs and the blonde groaned as he tried to get up. Gentle arms caught him as he nearly fell flat down on the ground.

"Easy Naruto", Gaara mumbled. "Does it hurt too much?"

Naruto sank into the redhead's arms and nodded. Gaara wrapped the covers around Naruto and lifted up the smaller man without much of an effort. Naruto hit one fist into Gaara's chest and said:

"I told you to stop."

"Sorry. Shukaku enjoyed your moaning too much", Gaara said with a furious blush.

"Bring him out so I can beat the crap outta him!" Naruto whined and shook his fist weakly.

The bedroom door to the main bedroom opened and Iruka came out. His walk was wobbly, as well as a bit awkward and he looked tiredly at them.

"What happened?" he asked the younger men.

Both of them only blushed as an answer.

-

Lee opened his eyes and blinked a few times. Something heavy laid on his upper chest. He looked at the Hyuuga, who was still sound asleep on his teammate. Well, not for much longer.

"Neji", Lee said and the white-eyed man stirred. "Wake up, sleepy-head."

Neji's head rose from the black-haired one's chest and Lee giggled at the Hyuuga's tousled hair and sleepy eyes.

"Oh, shut it", Neji mumbled and rubbed one eye. "What time is it?"

Lee twisted around to get a look at the clock and said:

"Almost nine in the morning."

Neji groaned and sat up. He looked at his wrinkled clothing and sighed. He watched as Lee got up and stretched.

"Oi", the Hyuuga said, "give me a hand."

Lee rolled his eyes and hauled up Neji from the floor, slipping one arm around the Hyuuga as he stumbled.

"Where are Tenten and Gai?" Neji said.

"I woke up a bit earlier just when they were about to leave. They said that we could take our time and then go to the Hokage Tower."

"Is it alright if we come at sunset…?"

"I don't really think so Neji", Lee sweat dropped.

"… Damn."

-

Kiba rolled over as the sun was directed at his face, and dragged Shino with him. The bug-user groaned and coughed. He then shivered at the chilly morning-air as Tsume had opened one of the windows when getting in the shinobi way (which means, through the window instead of the door). She was sitting on the window sill, watching them both with a smile. Kiba gently scooped Shino closer to lessen the man's shivers and tightened his hold on him. Shibi jumped inside next to Tsume and stopped.

"Should we wake them up?" she asked.

"It's around nine, so probably", the Aburame said.

"It's been a long time since I made breakfast for Kiba and Shino; maybe I'll get that ready before we wake them up", the Inuzuka leader said. "Want something?"

"Coffee would be nice", the ma said and dropped soundlessly on the floor.

Akamaru looked up sleepily and Tsume assured him it was alright. The dog wagged his tail as Shibi scratched his ears. Kiba turned a bit and Shino snuggled into the Inuzuka's neck. Shibi could not help but grin at the scene.

Soon breakfast was ready and Tsume came in. The Aburame was watching the two of them quietly.

"Shouldn't you wake them up?" she asked as she handed him a cup of coffee.

"I was about to but…"

Tsume grinned at the man's weak protest, crunched down and carefully stroke Kiba's cheek.

"Kiba", she said gently and the man stirred. "Time to get up."

Kiba opened his eyes and blinked owlishly a few times. He looked up at his mother and mumbled:

"Are we late?"

"No", Tsume said. "You think you can get yourself and Shino up and join us in the kitchen soon?"

"Okay", he said and slowly released his hold on the younger Aburame.

Shino refused to let go though and Kiba sighed.

"I think I need to persuade him", the Inuzuka said sheepishly to his mother and Shino's father. "Shino… come on, wake up, sleeping-beauty."

The two adults chuckled at the nickname. Shino coughed as an answer. Kiba sat up, still holding the Aburame loosely and said:

"Still got the damn cough? Persistent one. Shino, I need you to wake up now."

Blinking eyes and soon Kiba stared into Shino's dark eyes. The Aburame coughed again, harshly this time and the Inuzuka said:

"I told you Shino."

"Quiet…" the bug-user rasped. "Give me something to drink, 'kay?"

Tsume presented a glass of water and Kiba handed it to the Aburame. Shino took it and sipped only a little before the coughing continued. He almost dropped the glass but the Inuzuka grabbed it. He set it down on the floor and rubbed Shino's back as the Aburame gasped for breath after the coughing fit he had. Kiba looked up at the adults and said:

"He's in no shape at all."

"We'll find a way then", Tsume said. "We're going to Tsunade-sama to get a replacement for you today, okay? Breakfast is waiting on the both of you in the kitchen though."

Kiba nodded. Tsume rose up to leave but Shibi leaned in. He put a hand on Shino's forehead and the younger Aburame looked up at his father. Shibi smiled gently, kissed his son's cheek before moving after the Inuzuka woman. Shino leaned to Kiba and shivered. Kiba picked up the glass and made his friend take a few sips. Then he put it on the table and said:

"Let's eat breakfast and then you're going back to bed."

Shino succeeded getting up and they got into the kitchen. Akamaru stood up and followed them. Shino looked at the breakfast, coughed and then turned away slightly.

"You love mom's cooking, so if you refuse you gotta be more sick than I thought", the Inuzuka said.

Shino looked like he was going to puke, so he put a hand to his mouth and said feebly:

"I don't think I can eat…"

Kiba closed the space between them and Shino looked away from the Inuzuka.

"Alright, you don't need to eat but you'll need someone here with you."

"I got Akamaru, right?"

The Inuzuka began to protest, when the said dog happily barked and let Shino steady himself by putting one hand on the dog's great back. Akamaru turned his eyes to the Inuzuka who said:

"I need you to take really good care of Shino, okay?"

Akamaru barked and wagged his tail.

"I knew I could trust you", Kiba smiled.

-

Chouji woke up with a groan and got up. Shikamaru sat up with his hair in all directions as it had gotten out his usual hairstyle and his red-shot eyes glared at Chouji's clock.

"No need to kill my clock with your eyes Shika", the Akimichi said.

"I couldn't sleep until three hours ago", Shikamaru growled but got up nonetheless.

Chouji steadied the Nara as he almost fell. Shikamaru moaned against Chouji's shoulder and relaxed his tense and sore body against his friend's stronger one.

"You need a day off?" the Akimichi said.

"… No", the Nara answered. "Just some coffee and then I'll be up and ready."

"Shika, it's okay if you don't feel fine."

"I'm tired that's all."

"And you need your sleep to be able to stay alert", Chouji said. "In this state, you won't be able to."

"My dad's gonna kill me", Shikamaru moaned.

"Because you're tired??" the bigger man was a bit shocked.

"He said I've wasted enough time being lazy."

"Why did you stay up so late then?"

"…"

"Well??" the Akimichi demanded to know.

"I had some reports to write", Shikamaru said and pushed away.

"Reports for what?"

"Some securities on the village needed updates and I made the rounds before I went to you", the Nara said. "I promised to have the reports ready today."

"When did you get the assignment?" Chouji asked with a hint of suspicion in his voice.

"Yesterday." And with that, he began to walk but lost his balance in an instant.

The Akimichi caught the smaller man as he stumbled and held him up. Chouji swore; lately they had demanded such short notice missions of Shikamaru, and it was taking its toll on him.

"Why have they assigned so many missions of this kind on you?"

"Because I was apparently the only one they could spare", Shikamaru said.

"I could have done it as well", the Akimichi argued.

"Yeah, but now it was me. Besides, it was a job that needed a bit of planning before it could be done."

"Stubborn Nara", Chouji sighed.

"You mean stupid Nara."

"That too."

"You angry?" Shikamaru asked, dreading the answer.

"No. A bit unfair on you, but I'm not angry on you", Chouji answered. "How about some breakfast, then fast scouting and I'll make you take a nap?"

"This will be the first time you make me take a nap", the smaller man said with a chuckle.

"One in a life time appearance, take good care of it."

-

Itachi was sitting up, holding Kisame loosely. The fish-man's head was on the smaller man's shoulder and his face was at ease. Itachi looked at Kisame with a smile as the nightmare he had the night before began to melt away. Finally the bigger man yawned and started to wake up.

"Hi Kisame", Itachi said and stroke one blue cheek.

"Itachi-san", Kisame rasped back.

"We better get ready for the day", Itachi said. "We'll be working on the north gate together with Sasuke and Kankuro."

"Are they awake?"

"Most likely not. But I'll go wake them up and you get dressed."

The Uchiha rose up, carefully lowering down Kisame in the process. The fish-man supported himself on his elbows and yawned. Itachi got a rare look on the jagged scar on Kisame's throat and saw red for a moment as he remembered when the bigger man had almost died.

"Itachi-san?"

The Uchiha broke out from his thoughts and looked down at Kisame, who was looking straight back at him with a confused expression. Itachi smiled, crunched down and let a finger run down the scar. Kisame got even more confused and sat up. The blankets pooled down around his waist and Itachi sighed a bit. He ran a hand down the fish-man's throat and settled it on a broad shoulder.

"Just thinking of the past", the raven said and squeezed the shoulder in reassurance. "Get dressed Kisame."

-

Hinata and Sakura were working already at the hospital. They were making their rounds as usual before they would meet up with Tsunade. The Hyuuga was a bit nervous and the pink-haired saw that her hand was shaking slightly as the Hyuuga was writing on her clip-board.

"Don't worry Hina", Sakura said. "We won't let anyone hurt you guys."

Hinata looked at the other one and smiled. Sakura had begun calling her Hina more and more often and the Hyuuga found that she liked it. She also liked when Sakura said things like that, because she knew that the pink-haired meant it. They would fight to the death before giving up.

-

Sasuke was mildly woken up by his brother and he looked up at Itachi.

"Time to get up", the older Uchiha said.

Sasuke nodded and turned to Kankuro. The puppeteer was still asleep. He heard Itachi close the door and stretched. He carefully turned the older man and Kankuro stirred.

"Morning", Sasuke whispered into his ear. "Time to get up."

Kankuro blinked a few times and looked up into onyx eyes. He brought his arms up and Sasuke smiled before leaning in so Kankuro could hug him. That was a normal tradition that the puppeteer had started. He would not get out of bed until he got at least one hug from the Uchiha.

Sasuke sat up, dragging Kankuro with him as he did. The older male whined at the coolness of the room and the Uchiha smiled softly before embracing Kankuro tightly.

"Come on, let's go", he said after a while. "Itachi and Kisame are probably waiting."

Kankuro let go and got a kiss on his nose before Sasuke stood up. The raven rummaged through his bag and pulled out his clothes. They had divided so that sometimes they slept at Kakashi's and Iruka's house and sometimes at the Uchiha manor. Right now, they were at Kakashi's and Iruka's place.

Kankuro rose up and got on his clothes as well. Sasuke put on his navy-blue shirt and black baggy pants. He sat down as he picked up the bandages and began putting them on. Kankuro put on his black pants and black shirt. He sat down at a mirror and picked up his face-paint. Sasuke combed his hair as he watched his lover swiftly put on the paint with practiced ease. Kankuro had just finished when Sasuke snaked his arms around the puppeteer.

"Sasuke?"

"Nothing", the raven said. "I just thought you're beautiful."

Kankuro blushed; he always did. Sasuke combed his fingers through the short hair before pulling on Kankuro's hood.

"There, now you're all set!" the Uchiha said.

Kankuro smiled at the younger man and picked up the heavy scrolls. Sasuke took his katana and they went out.

-

Naruto and Gaara jumped down on the ground and waited. A second later Genma and Ibiki joined them. They had taken the morning pass of scouting, despite Gaara saying that Naruto needed to recover from their 'nightly business'. Kyuubi had healed his body though and Naruto was a bit restless. Ibiki got out the map and said:

"We need to set up a few traps around here as well as check the old ones."

"Who set out the old ones?" Naruto asked and leaned to see on the map.

"Tsume and Anko", Ibiki said and tried to remember. "That was a few years ago, so we'll probably need to set out an entire new set of traps."

Naruto jumped up in a tree and set to work before the scarred man could say another word.

"Impatient brat", Ibiki muttered, causing Genma and Gaara to laugh.

"I heard that!" the blonde called out.

-

The day went by quickly, and it had begun to darken when the shinobis returned to the safety inside the village.

Ino stood by the gate and waited for any signs that Shikamaru and Chouji were returning. Kiba jumped down on the ground not far from her. He was soon joined by Neji and Lee.

"Hi guys", she said. "Did you see Shika or Chouji?"

"They aren't far from here", Lee said. "They should come in a few minutes."

"Thanks."

The three continued on their way to the Hokage Tower whilst Ino waited. Other shinobis dropped by, and finally the two men she wanted to see came.

"Shika?" she said worriedly. "It looks like you're ready to keel over!"

"He probably is", Chouji said and hoisted up Shikamaru a bit better. "He's off to bed now. Can you tell Tsunade-sama we're back?"

"Yeah, no problem."

She leaped off and Chouji looked down at his friend.

"Are you already sleeping or what??" he asked.

"…"

"Well?!"

"… Shut up."

Chouji sighed and picked up the light man and jumped up on a roof before leaping home.

-

Sasuke was sitting on the wall and emptied his water canteen while Kankuro put bandages on his arm were the Uchiha had been hurt by an old trap. Itachi was standing behind Sasuke, looking over the surrounding forest and the sunset. Kisame had positioned himself by the older Uchiha's feet and had his eyes closed. Kankuro finished and rocked back on his heels so that he could stand up.

"We should report back to Tsunade-sama", Itachi said quietly.

"Aa", Sasuke said and stood up. "Where to then?"

"I don't feel like going to Uchiha manor", the older Uchiha said. "What about you Kisame?"

"Doesn't really matter", the tall man rasped.

"You?" Sasuke said to Kankuro.

"Uchiha manor feels a bit creepy", the puppeteer said. "So I'd like to avoid sleeping there until this whole mess is over."

"Then it's decided."

The older Uchiha helped Kisame up and they leaped off.

-

Tsume and Shibi returned to the village as one of the last groups. Tsunade was waiting at them.

"I almost thought you had been…" the Godaime trailed off as she saw their wounds.

"There were three Kuroi Kage members in our path", the Inuzuka woman said. "They had been trying to sneak in."

"Are they dead?"

"Already burned their corpses", Tsume said. "They had quite some interesting things to tell."

"Join me in my office for that information?" Tsunade said.

"Shibi needs to go to the hospital", the Inuzuka said. "He got hit pretty good."

Tsunade went to the Aburame, who had slumped down against the wall. The Hokage examined him quickly and said:

"Yeah, this needs a bit healing. I can take care of Tsume's wounds, but he needs some observation tonight."

Kiba came down and Tsume smiled to him.

"I can take him", Kiba said. "I was on my way checking on Hinata anyway."

"Thank you", Tsunade said.

"How's Shino?" the Inuzuka woman said.

"A bit better. Akamaru refused to let go of him, so I thought I could see if everyone was okay."

Kiba helped the Aburame up and leaped off. Tsunade held a hand to Tsume and said:

"How about my office now, and a cup of coffee?"

-

Naruto and Gaara were walking home from the Tower after they had given their reports.

"Naruto! Gaara!"

They turned around and were tackled by Sakura. The three of them were sent sprawling on the ground.

"Sakura?" Naruto said.

"Um… Hi?"

Sakura blushed a bit and sat up. Naruto got up on his elbows and said:

"Isn't that something you're supposed to do on Lee?"

"Already done it!" she said with a big silly grin.

"Why us?" the redhead muttered.

"Because you were the closest", she answered. "How did scouting go?"

"Fine", Naruto said as they stood up. "Not a soul except for us out there."

"Tsume-san and Shibi-san met three members of Kuroi Kage", Sakura said. "Shibi-san is being treated right now by Shizune."

"Is he alright?" the blonde Jinchuuriki said.

"Yeah", the pink-haired girl said, "he just needs to be under observation for the night."

"So where are you heading?" Gaara said.

"Home", Sakura answered. "I've met with most of my friends, so I don't have to worry that anyone is hurt."

"Are we the only ones you tackled?" Naruto whined.

"Actually, I did it on Lee, Tenten, Neji, Sasuke, Hinata and Ino before you two!"

"Poor them…"

"Poor us", Gaara muttered.

The two Jinchuurikis laughed as Sakura pouted.

"See you guys later", she said and raced off.

They could only shake their heads at her.

-

Team Gai had once more gathered at Lee and Neji's apartment. This time, Gai and Lee were in the middle of a game of poker while Neji and Tenten were making dinner.

"Are they after to destroy the living room?" Neji muttered as he heard another bang.

"You know them", Tenten said. "Are you feeling alright Neji?"

The Hyuuga looked down at his shaking hands and suddenly leaned against the counter.

"Neji?"

Tenten rested a hand on his shoulder and he leaned his head on hers.

"It's going to be alright", she whispered. "Don't worry."

The Hyuuga was not so startled when he felt a hand on his back and Lee's comforting chakra surrounding him. Lee looked at Tenten who shook her head slightly and stroke Neji's hair. Gai came inside and Neji moved a bit so he could look at them.

"Gai-sensei, will you help me finish?" Tenten said and looked first at her teacher and then at Lee.

They both caught the hint and set to work. Lee took Neji out in the living room while Gai stayed in the kitchen. Neji sat down on the couch and rubbed his eyes tiredly. Lee sat down next to him and said:

"I know you've already heard this so many times, but it's gonna be okay."

Neji slumped down against Lee and sighed. The black-haired man saw a tear gliding down the Hyuuga's cheek.

"It's alright, Neji. We're not dead yet. And you know as well as I that we're too stubborn to die."

-

Kiba jumped through the window and shut it carefully. The apartment was dark and the only sound was harsh breathing. Kiba lighten a few lights and took off his sandals. Akamaru came walking and nuzzled his hand.

"Hi", he said. "Shino okay?"

Akamaru whined and tugged at his sleeve. Kiba went into the living room that was at night also a bedroom and kneeled down by Shino.

His friend started coughing and choked as he laid on his back. Kiba pulled him up to a sitting position and Shino opened his eyes. The Inuzuka quickly checked Shino's forehead and was glad when it was cool to the touch. No fever.

"Shino?"

The bug-user opened his eyes for a bit and mumbled out a 'What?'

"You hungry?"

"A bit…"

Kiba carefully lifted up the Aburame and carried him to the kitchen. Akamaru was not far behind. The way Shino's head effortlessly lolled with every movement made Kiba a bit worried.

"Akamaru", he said and the dog barked. "How has he been doing today?"

The dog seemed to think and then barked some more. The Inuzuka lowered down his friend onto a chair and wrapped the blanket around him.

"You're getting nothing more but chicken soup", he warned the bug-user.

Shino just looked at him and then sniffed. Kiba began rummaging through the shelves until he found the ingredients to make soup.

"It's gonna take a little while to make this, okay?"

"'Kay", the bug-user answered and slowly lowered his head onto the table.

"O-Oi, don't fall asleep!"

-

Night fell over Konoha and Naruto stared out at the moon from his bed. Gaara was flipping through a magazine lazily a bit away. The blonde Jinchuuriki gazed at the redhead, who looked up and said:

"Naruto, your eyes are turning red."

The small one shook his head to get Kyuubi back into his prison.

"He's needy", Naruto muttered. "Typical…"

Gaara put away the magazine and crawled over.

"Well, he has to be satisfied with cuddling tonight", the redhead said and laid down.

Naruto rolled over and burrowed his head into Gaara's chest. The other Jinchuuriki responded by embracing him tightly.

"Gaara…"

"I know."

"I'm scared."

"I know, Naruto."

"I don't… I don't want to die", the blonde murmured.

"You're not going to die", Gaara responded. "I won't let them harm you."

Naruto blinked back his tears and fisted his hands into Gaara's shirt.

"Yeah…" he simply whispered.

-

Itachi rushed out from the guestroom, into the kitchen and practically drenched his head in the sink in cold water. He looked at his reflection for a long time, fighting back those rare tears that were coming.

"No", he moaned quietly. "Stop it…"

He had dreamed again. Blood, it was blood everywhere. Everyone was dead, he had killed them, and he had the sickening feeling he had enjoyed it.

"Itachi?"

The Uchiha whipped around, water flying and looked at Kisame. The man was clearly still half-asleep and Itachi felt his body shake. He was alive. Kisame was alive.

"Itachi-san?"

The raven moved swiftly and grabbed Kisame's face. The fish-man looked down at Itachi who was stroking one blue cheek, almost like in a trance. Then the Uchiha moved his arms and embraced the bigger man.

"Itachi-san?" Kisame tried again.

"Nothing…" Itachi said. "Bad dream that's all. Needed to cool down."

The Uchiha and the fish-man stood there quiet for a long time.

-

The next day began as the former one for some. Naruto got up, dressed quickly before waking up his lover. Gaara yawned and got up on his elbows.

"We're going to be late", the blonde said.

"I'm coming I'm coming", the redhead muttered and sat up.

Naruto stepped out and almost crashed into Sasuke. The Uchiha raised a hand to him, ruffled his hair and moved to the bathroom. Naruto only shook his head as he continued. He encountered Kisame in the living room, asleep on the couch. Someone had draped a blanket over the big man who was snoozing peacefully. The older Uchiha came out from the kitchen with a cup of coffee. He patted the blonde on the head before sitting down by the low table in the living room.

"Good morning Naruto."

The blonde turned around and looked at Iruka. The man was carrying a basket of clothes.

"I was just about to set this up. Care to help me a bit?" the brunette said.

"Sure!"

They moved out into the sun and Iruka set the basket down.

"Where's Kaka-san?" Naruto asked.

"He's asleep", Iruka answered. "He came back a bit late yesterday."

"Lazy Jounin…"

"There is no need to insult him", Iruka sweat dropped.

-

Kiba woke up with a start as he heard someone vomit in the bathroom. He was disorientated for a little while, but then Akamaru barked and Kiba remembered where he was, and who the one who was vomiting was most likely.

He flung aside the covers and scrambled to his feet. Akamaru stood in the door opening to the bathroom, whining. Kiba went inside and was just in time to support Shino as the latter's strength left him. The Inuzuka wetted a towel in the sink and cleaned of the bug-user's face. Shino collapsed and said feebly:

"Sorry about the mess…"

"It's alright", Kiba said. "You feeling better now?"

Shino nodded.

"That's what matter", the Inuzuka said. "Let's get you out of here."

Kiba first let Shino rinse out the foul taste in his mouth before setting down the Aburame on the couch. The slightly larger man made sure that Shino did not have a fever and asked if his throat still hurt.

"I'm better now", Shino said.

Kiba went and cleaned up the bathroom as Akamaru stayed with the Aburame. He came out and looked at the time. It was only eight-thirty; Kiba's scouting began at two so he had a long break. He looked at his friend, who had slid down from the couch to rub Akamaru. The dog looked like he was in paradise. Now the man had gone from rubbing to stroking his hands in the thick fur. Not long after that, his head fell down on Akamaru's back and he sighed.

Kiba smirked and moved into the room. He sat down and petted Akamaru's head while helping Shino up again.

"Sleepy-head", he murmured.

Shino growled a bit but made no further comment.

-

The village was in movement as the sun began to rise. Chouji and Shikamaru leaped over the rooftops in order to get to the meeting place where they were going to meet their fathers. Shikamaru was reading a map at the same time, so more than once the larger man grabbed a hold of his friend so the Nara would not fall on the ground. Now the lazy Jounin had been forbidden to look at the map while running, as Chouji did not want a heart attack this early in the morning. The Nara had gotten a good night sleep and was now looking a lot better.

They jumped down on the meeting place where Chouza and Shikaku were already waiting.

"You ready to go?" Shikaku said with a grin.

"As ready as we can be", Shikamaru said.

Shikaku ruffled his son's hair and they were off. They raced out from the north gate and disappeared into the woods. The four of them never believed it would be so hard getting back to the village in one piece later on.

-

Tsume was with Anko this morning as they scouted. Shibi had not been released from the hospital yet. Kuromaru was running in front of her while Anko was jumping on the branches above her. They were scouting the east part of the forest surrounding the village. The two women had not seen anything interesting so far but they had no idea what was waiting for them.

-

The two Jinchuurikis was out with Sasuke and Kankuro in the south. The four of them moved silently through the forest when they heard an explosion from the opposite direction.

"Was it in the village?" Gaara asked.

"No", Naruto said. "It was too far away."

"North?" Sasuke said.

"Probably", the blonde said.

"Is it Kuroi Kage?" the puppeteer asked.

Another explosion was heard in the east, and then west.

"Something is coming", Kankuro said.

"And they're gonna be here soon", Naruto said.

Sasuke gripped his katana, as did the blonde. Sand started to swirl around them and Kankuro gripped two of the five heavy scrolls he carried. Naruto had his eyes closed, trying to listen. Suddenly his eyes snapped open and he said:

"They're here."

Tbc…

Short chapter, I know. Next chapter is gonna be longer I think. It's gonna be the whole battle. If it's too long, I'll divide it into two parts.

Look forward to it.

Ja,

Tiro


	4. Ch 4: Suvival

**Kuroi Kage VS. Konoha Shinobi**

Chapter four for you guys. Enjoy.

**Pairings**: KakIru, GaaNaru and SasukeKankuro.

**Summary**: The peace in Konoha is about to be destroyed. Who are the Kuroi Kage, and what is their purpose? Do they want the Jinchuurikis in Konoha, or do they want more than that? What will the shinobis in Konoha do to protect those they love?

"Talking"

'_Thinking'_

"_Talking in minds" _(Naruto and Gaara whenever they talk to Kyuubi or Shukaku in private or in this case, when Hoshigaki Kisame speaks with someone telepathically)

"**Demons talking"**

_Flashback _(In flashbacks, both _'Thinking' _and _"Talking in minds" _can be used)

-

**Chapter Four: Survival****…**

Tsume coughed as she tried to get up. A kunai was imbedded in her side and she felt blood running out of her mouth. Kuromaru was beside her, protecting her.

"Kuromaru", she hissed and the dog leaned closer. "Get back-up now."

The dog only hesitated for a moment before racing off. Anko was busy dealing with the three attackers. She set off the traps that had been put up and you could hear the occasional yell when one of the three got caught up in a trap. Tsume hid behind a tree and took out a soldier pill. She would need it.

-

Gaara jumped away and landed on a tree. He swiftly got out an explosive note, attached it to a kunai and threw it. It exploded, and a blood-curling scream satisfied him that the enemy would have some trouble moving again. He closed his eyes and gathered up his sand again. Naruto jumped down next to him, his white trench-coat soaked in blood.

"Iruka isn't gonna like that", Gaara noted.

"Not one bit", the blonde said and gripped his katana harder. "Sasuke is in a clearing just a bit west from here, and Kankuro is in the east. They have too many people attacking them."

"I take Kankuro."

"Alright, I'll go and collect Aniki then."

Naruto moved but Gaara stopped him. He was pulled into a hard, fast kiss and then the redhead was jumping down from the branch, away from his lover. Naruto let a finger touch his lips. They felt icy under his hand. Why?

-

Kisame swung Samehada and three of the Kuroi Kage was struck in one blow. Itachi was fighting beside him. The Uchiha had yet to use Sharingan; or rather, the man did not want to use it. If he did, the enemy would know he was an Uchiha, and he was still far too aware of the nightmares he had have the last few nights.

"_Itachi-san."_

"Yes?" he said as the big man and he was back to back.

"_More is coming. We need help."_

"I know", the raven-haired said. "Let's send a flare."

Kisame nodded and kicked away an enemy. He sent up a flare and then there was only to hold out until reinforcements arrived.

-

Chouji jumped down on a thick branch, hidden from possible threats, and set down Shikamaru on it. The Nara's leg was bleeding furiously and he had a deep wound in his side. The Akimichi waited for his father and Shikaku, who soon arrived.

"Dad" Chouji called out. "I need bandages."

Chouza gave them to his son, who turned his attention to Shikamaru again.

"I'll take care of his leg", Shikaku said.

"Okay."

The younger Nara groaned as they began.

"It's alright Shika", Chouji said. "Just hang on."

Shikamaru nodded and tried to relax. Chouza kept watch for any enemies.

"Someone is coming", Shikamaru said after a little while.

"Friend or enemy?" Shikaku asked.

"Dunno… wait. I think it's an Aburame."

Just at that moment Shibi jumped down silently at their branch.

"You better go", he said quietly. "A group of enemies are moving this way."

"We can't leave you all alone", Chouza protested.

As on cue, Ibiki and Jiraiya came.

"Go", the Sannin said. "We'll handle business here."

Shikaku picked up his son and moved to leap away but Shikamaru's weak voice stopped him. The younger Nara took out a package and handed it to Ibiki.

"What's this?" the scarred man asked.

"I never got the chance to use it", Shikamaru said. "It's a trap Naruto made."

Ibiki grinned devilishly and thanked him. Shikaku jumped down and soon the two Akimichis followed him.

-

Kiba hurled a shuriken at an enemy and jumped down on a branch. Akamaru jumped down at his side before jumping down right on the enemy. Kiba was panting and winced as he moved his left shoulder; he had taken a pretty bad hit on it. Akamaru barked and Kiba jumped down.

"Where are Tenten and Ino?" he asked the dog.

Akamaru barked again and the Inuzuka swore. The two girls were too far away, and he needed help now.

"This is so gonna fail", he muttered before starting to run again.

-

Sasuke screamed as a sword pierced his right shoulder and continuing into a tree. The enemy licked his lips and said:

"Uchiha, right? Why don't you use those pretty eyes of yours?"

"Because you want them", Sasuke growled.

"Just activate them and I'll kill you quickly", the man said.

As the man came closer, Sasuke's eyes began to burn and he screamed again.

"I'll pull them out if I have to", the man hissed. "Your power will be ours."

Then something jumped down in front of the Uchiha. The enemy stopped and observed the newcomer. Blonde hair, pale skin and piercing blue eyes. A katana was strapped to his left hip and a cloth with a fox on his right hip. The man noted that the katana was glowing scarlet. The newcomer had a white trench-coat that ended around his ankles and with wide arms. He had a fishnet-shirt and black pants. Three marks on each of his cheeks made him stand out a bit.

"Who the hell are you?!" the man screamed.

"Naruto", Sasuke whispered.

Naruto locked eyes with his enemy, let out a roar and with one movement he had severed off the man's head. Naruto sheathed his blade and ran up to the Uchiha. He gently removed the blade and caught Sasuke as the man slumped forward.

"Aniki", Naruto murmured warmly. "It's okay now; I'll take you back to Konoha."

"Not so fast brat."

Naruto turned around to face ten more enemies.

"Our lord wants the Sharingan", the apparent leader of the group said. "Leave the body or else you will die."

"I'll die for my Aniki", Naruto said with a smile. "So you better prepare to die, since I'm in a hurry."

"Brat!"

The man had almost reached Naruto when he made a few one-handed seals and shouted out:

"Katon: Kuroi Ho!"

Black flames roasted the man to death and when the other men could look, Naruto was already racing towards them like a bloodied angel.

-

Itachi fell to the ground as a kunai sliced his leg. Kisame came to stand protectively over the Uchiha immediately. Itachi coughed and began to consider using Sharingan.

Suddenly one of the enemies fell down. Tsunade came and hurled her fist at another one. Genma threw another senbon, and Kisame found himself and swung Samehada again.

Soon there were only corpses lying on the ground. Itachi was helped up by the big man and he looked up at Kisame. He had a long slash over his chest that was still bleeding. Itachi put his hand over the wound and it began to close.

"_Itachi-san?"_

"Quiet", the Uchiha said. "Let me do this."

The man eyed him oddly but did not question it.

'_I fear I will do something later on I will regret deeply Kisame'_, Itachi thought. _'So I want you to be strong and perhaps kill me if you must.'_

-

Sasuke opened his eyes to see the whole clearing looking like an execution spot. Blood and limbs from the enemies lay spread around the whole place. He located his otouto, who stood still in the middle. His trench-coat and hair had bathed in blood. Naruto turned around and looked at the raven-haired man. Sasuke gazed long into those deep orbs of ocean, and quietly spoke:

"Thank you."

Naruto broke out in a smile, and Sasuke smiled back. No matter how much blood Naruto would shed, no matter how many the blonde Jinchuuriki would slay, he would still stay pure just as now. He may be covered in blood, but the aura around him made Sasuke think of only one thing:

'_Angel.'_

-

Gaara jumped from tree to tree, crushing enemies as he went. Just how many could the enemies be? Were they even worse than Blood Fang and his gang? Gaara sighed and twisted in the air as a shuriken hurled towards him.

"It's a Jinchuuriki!" one of the enemies screamed. "Catch him!"

The redhead made a Ryuusa Bakuryu and quickly finished with Sabaku Taisou. He came just in time to stop the enemies from killing his older brother.

"Kankuro!" he screamed.

The puppeteer looked up and smiled a bit. Gaara got up a kunai and hurled it at the last enemy. A sickening crack was heard as it penetrated the man's skull. Gaara scanned the area before getting to his brother. The sand gently collected the broken forms of the puppeteer's puppets.

"What happened?" Gaara said softly.

"Met the leader", Kankuro said. "He wants Naruto and Neji the most. You gotta warn Naruto and Neji."

"Why Neji?"

"Neji's Byakugan is strong as hell", Kankuro gasped. "More powerful than Neji is even aware of. You gotta warm them."

"You're coming with me."

"I'm just slowing you down. Go."

"No!"

Gaara picked up his brother and leapt away.

-

Neji fell down on his knees and screamed in agony as a searing pain came to his eyes. Lee quickly held the convulsing body close and looked up at Gai, Kakashi and Hiashi. The older Hyuuga bent down and said:

"I feel the pain in my eyes as well. Kakashi?"

"I always feels pain in my eye", the Copy-nin said, "but now it's more than usual."

"Hello there", a voice behind them said.

They turned around to see a man in his forties stand there. He had greenish hair, yellow eyes and a battle armour.

"Who are you?" Gai said as he got into a Taijutsu stance.

"Me?" the man said. "I'm Haishin, the leader of Kuroi Kage. Hand over that Hyuuga boy to me."

-

Itachi fell down to his knees and clawed at his eyes. Tsunade quickly pulled his hands away and screamed:

"What's gotten into you, Itachi?!"

"Take it away!" the Uchiha screamed. "Take away the pain! Please!"

Blood began to come out from his eyes and he screamed in agony. Tsunade looked up as she heard another scream and she paled.

Hinata was screaming and clawing at her eyes as well. As far as Tsunade could see, all the Hyuugas did and Itachi.

"Tsunade", Jiraiya said. "I heard about something but I never thought it was true."

"What?!"

"A man who could concentrate on bringing other people pain by just wishing so", the white-haired man said. "His name is Haishin."

-

Naruto tried to get up, but the pain was unbearable. He could hear Sasuke screaming nearby, but he could not call out for his best friend. The blonde retreated into his mind.

Kyuubi's chakra soothed away the pain immediately, and Naruto was lying in front of the prison. Kyuubi walked out from it and sat down near Naruto.

"_What's going on?"_ Naruto asked.

"**I've only met a guy like this once"**, Kyuubi began. **"They control others by pain."**

"_Control them?"_

"**Yep"**, the demon said. **"Remember how he wants Uchiha eyes, Hyuuga eyes and Jinchuurikis?"**

"_Yeah, so what?"_

"**By making them feel his pain, he takes control over them"**, Kyuubi said. **"Means you gotta get your ass up and beat the guy before Sasuke kills you."**

"_He will control Itachi and Kaka-san as well?"_

"**Neji, Hinata, the girl's dad and all the Hyuugas too.**** And the worst is, once someone beats him, you gotta defeat all of those he controls. Pain in the ass, I tell you that."**

Naruto stood up.

"_I will need your help"_, the blonde said.

"**I'll give you everything I got."**

Kyuubi stood as well.

"**But my power can make you die"**, the demon warned.

"_I won't"_, Naruto said. _"I'm too stubborn."_

Kyuubi held out his hands and Naruto took them. Red chakra exploded, and a roar from the demon tore from Naruto's mouth.

-

Shino was lying on the floor. He was hardly hanging on to consciousness and everything was a blur to him. His fever was raging, and he unsuccessfully tried to move again. The smoke was coming thicker this time. Shino blinked owlishly as he looked at the door. Something was on fire out in the hall. If he would not get out soon, he would be burned alive.

-

Itachi suddenly stopped struggling. He fell down, motionless. Moments after, all of the Hyuugas did the same. Kisame was holding Itachi and looked at Tsunade for an answer.

Suddenly a man with green hair and yellow eyes jumped down. He had Neji on one shoulder.

"You should run", he said. "Soon the Hyuugas and that Uchiha brat will attack you guys."

"What?!" Tsunade shouted.

"That's my ability", Haishin said with a chuckle. "I turn friends against each other."

"**So you're the guy?"** a demonic voice said.

Haishin froze as he felt the chakra; never had he felt such terrifying chakra. It was even more terrifying than Kyuubi no Kitsune no Youkai. He looked for the source of the voice and the voice laughed. He growled and said:

"Let's see what you'll like this!"

He snapped his fingers and suddenly Itachi attacked Kisame. Tsunade looked into empty black pools to eyes and whipped her head around. All of the Hyuugas had the same black eyes. Kisame leaped away a bit as Itachi lashed out towards him again. The Godaime could see the panic rise in the blue-skinned man's eyes. She turned to the man with a growl.

"Change Itachi and the Hyuugas back!" she screamed.

"Why?"

"**It will lie in your best interest to do so"**, the demonic voice said once more, but now they finally got vision on the source.

A young man jumped down and Haishin's smile left his face. The smile was replaced by a look of wonderment, and horror.

The young man had white hair, pale skin and purple eyes. He was long and slender, enough to make any man drool for his body. He had only a transparent shawl around his neck and a pair of white ANBU-pants. His bare feet made no sound whatsoever and had claw-like nails. On his stomach however were marks of a seal that had been destroyed rather violently. He had long, thin fingers with claw-like nails there as well. His right hand was gripping a katana that was emitting an eerie light. The man twisted his vermillion lips into a smile and laughter danced in his eyes. But when he spoke, the same demonic voice was heard:

"**What's the matter?**** You seem a bit pale."**

"What the hell are you?!" Haishin screamed and snapped his fingers again so that the Hyuugas and Itachi stood still.

Kisame relaxed his stance somewhat, but still had his eyes stuck on his friend. He had not unsheathed Samehada, and the man inwardly hoped he would not need to.

"**I am a monster"**, the man said. **"I am two in one; one human and one demon. I am a Biju and a Jinchuuriki at the same time."**

"If you want them to survive", Haishin said with greed in his eyes, "you better surrender to me."

"**Surrender? Me, surrender to a lowly human such as you?"** the man said with disgust.** "You must be crazy."**

"I guess I have to get rid of you then", Haishin said coldly and cast away Neji's body. "Tell me your name."

The man only smiled. He brought the katana higher up and said:

"**If you can't guess, you're worthless."**

"You're stronger than Kyuubi", Haishin said. "But at the same time you said you're one of the Bijus. There are no more than nine, and no one of them is stronger than the ninth, Kyuubi. So I don't know. Who are you?"

The man showed Haishin a feral grin.

"**I am Kyuubi no Kitsune"**, the man snapped. **"But in the same time, I am also Uzumaki Naruto. You have never seen me fight, so you assumed that I, Naruto, was weak?"**

"You are", Haishin said. "Everyone reported it back to me, that you were weak."

Naruto smiled again. He made a few seals, brought the katana together in his hands and said:

"**Youjutsu: ****Chikai no Ketsueki."**(1)

He cut his thumb and the blood travelled upwards on the blade. Haishin looked on in horror. Naruto made a sweeping motion, bringing the katana's edge to the ground before starting to run. His steps were light, much lighter than before. His whole skin seemed to shine and a mist of blood laid itself around him. Haishin only had time to see Naruto's smile before the demon-human cut off his left arm. Naruto made a simple flip and went back a few metres. Haishin tried to stop the bleeding, but it was futile. He looked up at the white-haired young man and said:

"Why won't the bleeding stop?"

"**Because I don't want it to stop. I shared my blood with you, and when you cut a human with a demon's blood the wound will not close until the demon wants it."**

"You gave up your humanity to kill me?" the man asked in horror.

"**I have to defeat all the Hyuugas, the Uchihas, the Copy-nin and Ichibi after you"**, Naruto said softly. **"Once you have them under your control, they must be defeated by the one who defeated you."**

"You seemed to have figured me out, but you didn't answer my question", Haishin said.

"**I was never human"**, Naruto said and they all froze. **"Do you think a child like me could compare to the Kyuubi? You have to be something much more than a human to be able to defeat the strongest tailed beasts."**

"You have defeated Kyuubi?"

"**All my life"**, the demon-human answered. **"So many times I've lost count."**

Haishin brought up a scroll.

"I'm not out of the fight yet", he said. "I got a nice trick left."

"**One? I got hundreds. Try to kill me, human"**, Naruto said and licked his lips as his eyes sparkled in amusement.

-

Kiba had gotten into the village when he had seen the smoke from the house he knew Shino was in. he leaped there as fast as he could and broke into a window to their shared apartment. Smoke billowed out but the Inuzuka did not stop. He made a quick Wind Jutsu Naruto had taught him, and spotted Shino's motionless body. He rushed forward and gathered the Aburame in his arms. He got out and moved up to another roof. There he gently examined Shino and sighed of relief when he noted the man was alright.

"You got me scared for a while there", Kiba whispered fondly to Shino. "Don't do that again."

Suddenly someone jumped down. Kiba looked up and stared into black eyes of a Hyuuga member.

'_Black eyes? Hyuugas don't have black eyes---, oh shit!'_

He jumped away as the Hyuuga attacked him.

"What the hell?" he muttered. "Akamaru, come and help me!"

The white dog jumped up and growled at the Hyuuga. Kiba looked at his furry friend and said:

"What do you mean, he's not there? The guy is standing there!"

Akamaru barked.

"You mean someone trapped his soul and use his body to fight?!"

Another bark.

"And that has happened to all the Hyuugas?!!"

Two more barks, nervously.

"Oh, shit. We gotta fight Itachi, Sasuke, Gaara and Naruto as well?"

Akamaru sniffed and then barked some more.

"Oh, not Naruto? Good, because no one can beat him."

A kunai thrown made Kiba aware of the Hyuuga once more. He looked at the man.

"Seems he can't use Byakugan in that state", he said to the dog. "Means it's a little easier for us."

Another kunai, thrown with a precise aim. Blood dripped down on the roof as it had grazed Kiba's cheek.

"Oooor… maybe not."

-

Gaara was twisting on the ground, screaming. The pain was the worst he had even known. He called out for Shukaku, who recognized the chakra of the pain immediately. Quickly he pulled Gaara into the mindscape.

"**Wake up brat and accept my powers now!"**

"_Why?"_

"**That's the only way to not get trapped by that guy's chakra"**, Shukaku said in a hurry.

Gaara looked up at the demon and nodded, a bit dazed. Shukaku put his hands on Gaara's and looked him in the eyes.

"**I don't think you can return to be human from this."**

"_It doesn't really matter do it now? Everyone treated me as a monster while I was human."_

Shukaku grinned and a golden chakra broke up. Gaara's motionless body arched up and the redhead snapped open his eyes to reveal green-gold orbs.

-

Konoha lay in ruins. Shinobis lay scattered, unconscious and unknowing about the battles still going on. One lone man was fighting to save his friends.

Naruto had just knocked out Hyuuga Hiashi and the man's eyes returned to normal before he slipped them close. The white-haired demon-human panted as he looked around. He had taken care most of them. But he still had two left. He had felt Shukaku's chakra flare to life on full power and knew at that moment Gaara had not been tricked by the pain.

So now Naruto only had the Uchiha brothers. He walked lightly to where he knew Sasuke was, hoping that he had been luckily unconscious through the whole thing.

Sasuke jumped down to the younger Uchiha's body and peered one of the eyes open. Black, yes, but not the same black as the others. It was just Sasuke-black. Naruto sighed in contentment and stroke his 'Aniki's' cheek.

"Sorry Sasuke", he said. "I got your brother to defeat."

He leaped off towards the Hokage Tower.

-

Neji woke up to a pounding headache. He moaned and got up. With horror, he realized he could not feel his legs. He turned to look at them and nearly threw up.

They were crushed as an attack had made boulders fall on them. Tears prickled Neji's vision as he saw his blood slowly seep out from his body. He lay back on the hard surface now when the pain returned. He now discovered it came blood from his mouth and nose as well. He clawed at the cement for a little while as he tried to get any words out. However, his mouth would not cooperate with him. His pale eyes darted back and forth. He saw no one that could help him. He tried once more to speak and one word slipped out from his bleeding mouth:

"Help…"

-

While Naruto took care of Itachi, Gaara took care of the rest of Kuroi Kage. The redhead, although now black-haired, laid down Kankuro on a hospital bed so that he would get treatment as soon as possible.

The Jinchuuriki continued to get people closer to the hospital and the healers as Naruto reached Itachi.

-

The Uchiha was clawing at his eyes again, and Naruto was glad Itachi tried to fight of the Jutsu Haishin had placed on them all along with the pain.

"Itachi", the demon-human spoke softly and the raven's head snapped up. "Please don't fight me. I can take your pain away."

At first, it looked like Itachi would fight. But then the man slumped down and remained so even as Naruto pulled him closer.

"Itachi", he spoke again. "You're going to take a small nap. When you wake up, everything is gonna be fine."

The Uchiha nodded and Naruto sought out a special place on Itachi's neck. Once he found it, he pressed down with his thumbs, causing Itachi to faint.

He carefully lowered the Uchiha's body to the ground and let out a yelp as his own pain came back. Kyuubi had broken, he noted sadly as he crawled away. Suddenly a hand on his back made him turn around. Black hair, green-golden eyes and black clothing. It could not be…

"Gaara?" Naruto croaked and the man nodded.

Gaara carefully gathered up his lover in his arms and said:

"What's going to happen now?"

"I'm dying", Naruto said. "Kyuubi broke. He's gone."

"Shukaku is going as well", Gaara said slowly. "I can feel it."

"Please", Naruto said, not knowing why he said so.

Gaara caught the hidden meaning and rose up. Without taking a last look, he left Konoha.

-

The village woke up to see they had come out as victories. But some of them had lost something. They had lost two very special people.

Tbc…

(1) Black Art: Oath of Blood

Short chapter, I know. But… I can't really write more. Don't yell at me, please. And don't kill me either.

As you may understand, this sequel is short. It will probably be one more chapter, a short one I guess, and then an Epilogue. Then this story is wrapped up.

Sorry if I made it so sad, but… not everything can end happy.

Later,

Tiro


	5. Ch 5: Happy Ending?

**Kuroi Kage VS. Konoha Shinobi**

Chapter five here. Lots of angst in this chapter. I know I wrote in the last chapter that they had lost both Naruto and Gaara, but… I didn't say it was permanently.

**Pairings**: KakIru, GaaNaru and SasukeKankuro.

**Summary**: The peace in Konoha is about to be destroyed. Who are the Kuroi Kage, and what is their purpose? Do they want the Jinchuurikis in Konoha, or do they want more than that? What will the shinobis in Konoha do to protect those they love?

"Talking"

'_Thinking'_

"_Talking in minds" _(Naruto and Gaara whenever they talk to Kyuubi or Shukaku in private or in this case, when Hoshigaki Kisame speaks with someone telepathically)

"**Demons talking"**

_Flashback _(In flashbacks, both _'Thinking' _and _"Talking in minds" _can be used)

-

**Chapter Five: Happy Ending?**

Tsunade woke up and groaned. She had a massive headache. She sat up slowly, and looked around. The village was silent. Not even a bird was heard. She turned her head to make sure the area was clear. Then she got up and began to wake up those she saw.

-

Kiba groaned and opened his eyes. Akamaru barked at him and the Inuzuka looked up. The dog was sitting near him, and had laid a protective tail over Shino.

"He's alright?" he asked the dog who barked happily.

Kiba smiled and got up. He picked up Shino gently and shook him. The Aburame opened his eyes.

"We're going to the hospital okay?"

Shino only nodded, too tired to put up with a fight. Kiba gathered his friend tightly to his chest, but had a nagging feeling something was very wrong…

-

Kakashi bolted up into sitting position. His eye did not pain him anymore. He whipped around and searched for people's chakra signals. He found them all but two.

Kakashi's already pale face lost all colour and he whispered:

"Naruto… Gaara…"

-

Sasuke was lying on the ground, unmoving. He was awake but the realization had made him freeze. The ever-present chakra that had always been there was gone. The chakra of Naruto. The chakra that soothed some and put fear in others. The chakra Sasuke had grown used to feel. Now he felt like he was stumbling in darkness. One tear made its way down his cheek and he whispered:

"You can't be dead… Naruto…"

-

Shikamaru sat up and Chouji leaped up.

"Shika, you're awake!" he said.

The brunette did not answer. Instead he was breathing quickly and his eyes widened.

"Chou…" he said.

"What?"

"I can't feel Naruto or Gaara anymore."

-

Neji's breaths came out shallow and fast. The bleeding in his legs had left him too weak to even speak. He was just lying and waited for death. As he felt Naruto's chakra disappear tears fell from his eyes. When Gaara's followed he wanted to cry out. Two of his best friends, gone in a moment.

"Neji!"

A gentle hand brushed away the bloody hair from Neji's face. He moved his eyes slowly upwards, and saw Lee's worried face. He tried to speak but once more the words failed him.

"It's alright", Lee whispered. "Tsunade-sama is on her way. You're gonna be alright. Everything's gonna be alright."

Neji did not believe him.

-

Kankuro was crying. Why the medic-nins had no idea, but they could not stop his tears. He refused to say why he was crying, and just turned away from their touches.

The door to his room opened and the persons turned around. Sasuke was leaning onto the frame and was panting. Kankuro turned to his lover and emitted a cry as he looked into the Uchiha's eyes. Sasuke limped to the bed, shaking off their hands as he did.

"Leave us alone", he said.

"What's wrong?" Shizune asked.

"They're gone", Sasuke replied as he sat down on Kankuro's bed.

"Who's gone?"

The raven-haired man just shook his head sadly and choked back on a sob.

"Just… leave us for a while."

Shizune took them all out and closed the door. Kankuro looked at Sasuke and said:

"I can't live without those two."

"I know. Me neither. But they wouldn't want us to die", Sasuke replied.

"But…"

Sasuke lay down next to Kankuro and said:

"When we die, we'll meet them again. It doesn't hurt if we live a few more years than Naruto and Gaara."

-

As the night fell on, many people around the village had not come to ease at all. Tsunade was sitting on Yondaime's head with Naruto's katana in her hands. She would give it to Kakashi and Iruka later. She wiped away her tears but new ones kept coming. Why did it have to be them? Naruto and Gaara had so much more to live for. If anyone should have died, it should have been her. She was the Godaime Hokage; she was supposed to protect her villagers, not watching them fight to death.

She bent her head and squeezed the katana hard. She held it close to her chest, wishing that it had all been a bad dream and when she would wake up Naruto would scold her for her drinking habits. But she knew that this was not a dream. She knew Naruto would never scold her again. She knew she would never see his smile again.

And for some reason, that hurt a lot more than when she had lost her brother and lover. It hurt so much she wanted to scream in pain, a pain that only existed in her soul.

-

Itachi would have clawed out his eyes for real if not Kisame had stopped him. When he heard about the deaths he screamed of rage and Kisame had to hold him down. Now he was lying motionless in the bigger man's arms, staring blankly ahead of him.

They were in the living room and the Uchiha heard Iruka's cries from the bedroom. He winced and closed his eyes. When he felt Kisame's body shake he snapped them open and looked up.

Kisame was trying to not collapse in his own grief and Itachi swore to himself. Kisame had been really close to Naruto, and this death had taken a lot from the fishlike man.

He sat up and pulled Kisame down. He let the bigger man collapse against him and embraced him. He thought about Sasuke and wondered where the younger man was. He hoped the younger Uchiha was not alone as he tightened his hold on Kisame.

-

Iruka had at first not believed his son was dead. Only after he had been allowed to search himself, he had believed it. And it had crushed him. Kakashi had to carry him home.

Right now the man lay on his bed, crying. Kakashi could only hold his lover close and hope he would stop.

"Not Naruto", Iruka whispered. "Why him?"

"I don't know", the Copy-nin answered.

"It's so unfair. Both Naruto and Gaara."

"I know", Kakashi said as he swallowed back on his tears.

"Unfair…"

The brunette hugged Kakashi and buried his head into the man's chest.

'_Yeah… Unfair'_, Kakashi agreed.

-

While Tsunade had been able to heal Neji's legs, she could not heal the big empty hole he had in his chest now. He was lying on a hospital bed, staring out the window. Lee was lying next to him, asleep. Tenten had fallen asleep on her chair next to the bed. Gai entered the room and said:

"Still can't sleep?"

Neji mutely shook his head and turned away from the window. He looked at Lee's face for a while and then closed the distance between them. Even when he was this close to his team, he still felt so oddly alone. Lee woke up for a moment, and brought Neji close to his chest before falling asleep again.

Gai sat down on another chair and gently rubbed the Hyuuga's back while Neji silently cried.

-

Kiba had not been in this position for a long time, but he guessed in these circumstances everyone needed the comfort they could take.

He was lying in Shino's old bed with the said Aburame cradled to his chest. Hinata was spooning the man's back, and they were back in the way they had cocooned Shino several years ago. Hinata was not asleep; he could hear her quiet sniffling. She was stroking Shino's arm absently, and met Kiba's eyes.

"I can't believe they're gone", she said. "Yesterday, they were here, alive and well. Joking and laughing…"

"I know", the Inuzuka said. "It's so strange… and the way Sasuke looked. He already knew before anyone could tell him, right?"

"He must have", Hinata said. "He looked… dead."

"And Iruka", Kiba continued. "He was destroyed."

"Itachi-san… I fear he almost went crazy", the Hyuuga girl said softly. "He tried to claw his eyes out. He felt it was his fault… and…"

"Don't say you feel that as well", the Inuzuka said, "because it wasn't your fault! It wasn't Itachi' fault, wasn't anyone's fault but those Kuroi Kage!"

Shino moaned and moved. The two stilled and the Aburame cracked his eyes open.

"Hi", Kiba said softly. "Sorry, did we wake you up?"

"I guess we were a bit too loud", Hinata said.

"Can't you feel it?" Shino said.

"Feel what?" they both asked.

"Naruto… his chakra is still alive", the Aburame and closed his eyes briefly. "He's still alive."

-

Kiba and Hinata had to tell Tsunade. She had almost dropped Naruto's katana and realized Shino had spread his bugs out so far around the village when even she could not feel someone's chakra the Aburame still could. She immediately went to the Aburame house and Shino looked at her.

"Is it true?" she asked.

"He's weak", the Aburame responded, "but still alive. He seems to think he's dying, but… he's not. Kyuubi passed on to save Naruto's life, but Naruto hasn't realized that."

"What about Gaara?" she asked, her heart growing lighter for each passing moment.

Shino closed his eyes and Kiba sat down on the bed with his friend.

"Gaara", the Aburame mumbled. "He is in the same condition. Shukaku passed away only moments ago."

"Where are they?" she asked.

Shino swayed for a moment, and she realized he was weak because of the absent of his bugs. Kiba caught the man and said soothingly:

"Just a little bit more, and then you can call them back. You can rest for weeks if you want to."

"North…" he panted out. "I can't tell how far away, but they've seemed to collapsed so they won't move for a long time."

"Alright, thank you so much", she said.

"Just… bring them back", the Aburame said. "I don't want to see my friends this sad."

"Don't worry", the Godaime said as she rose up. "We'll find them."

-

Naruto was in a lot of pain, but he did not feel like he was dying anytime soon. Strange… He turned his eyes to look at Gaara. His lover was asleep. The now white-haired man tried to get up and groaned. _That_ hurt. A lot.

He crawled over to Gaara and collapsed next to him. He tucked his head underneath the black-haired man's chin and sighed. May as well take a nap if death was not to come. Then he would try getting them back to the village.

-

Tsunade immediately got a group together. She looked at the confused and sad faces of Jiraiya, Kakashi, Gai, Ibiki, Shibi, Shikaku and Hiashi.

"I have a very important mission for you", she said. "I've heard this information from Aburame Shino, who has exhausted himself over his limit to tell me."

Shibi looked at Tsunade and she said:

"He's alright now. He spread his bugs to a radio of fifty miles around Konoha in every direction. To the north, the bugs reported back something not long ago."

The men looked at each other. New enemies? Kakashi was not up for it.

"Shino claims Naruto and Gaara is alive", she said and they all snapped their heads towards her. "He has no reason to lie. The two seemed to believe they were dying, but that is not the case."

"Where are they?" Kakashi asked weakly as he was held up by Ibiki.

"He couldn't tell how far, but to the north", the Godaime said. "I want you to find them. While they are weak indeed, they are not dead. Kyuubi and Shukaku gave their lives so Naruto and Gaara could live. I don't want their sacrifice be in vain. Do you accept?"

"Stupid question", Jiraiya said. "I'm ready anytime."

They all nodded.

"Go and bring our boys back then", she said.

-

Hiashi checked the area every few miles and so far, they had gone twenty miles without any luck. Suddenly the man stopped on one of his searches.

"Just ahead", he said. "By a stream, two bodies. Their breathing indicates sleep."

They all rushed forward.

Kakashi almost screamed in relief as he saw the two men. While they still had the appearance as before, the Copy-nin knew it was them. He dropped to his knees and gently untucked Naruto from Gaara. The white-haired man blinked and looked up at Kakashi.

"Hi", Naruto said. "I guess you got to us before I could gather strength and get back."

Jiraiya had already picked up Gaara and Hiashi came forward.

"You risked your life", he said to the former Jinchuuriki. "You saved me from that Jutsu. Thank you."

"Couldn't leave the village in a mess with bloodthirsty Hyuugas now could I?" Naruto said.

"The village is a mess", Shikaku said. "All because we thought you guys were dead."

"I thought we were going to die", Naruto replied as Kakashi picked him up from the ground. "Gaara got this far before his strength gave up. When I felt the pain but no indication we were going to die, I abandoned that idea."

"Let's go back and fix the mess you caused", Ibiki said. "There are a lot of people who lost their hope when they thought you were dead."

"Iruka is gonna kill me", Naruto muttered.

"Well, he won't be the only one", Kakashi said back. "I think both Kisame and Itachi will try as well. Haven't met Sasuke yet, but I think he won't be too happy."

Naruto gulped.

-

Sakura sat by Neji's room, silent. She would not believe. Never. Naruto would not die because of that. Naruto was much stronger than everyone thought. He was stronger than the Kyuubi no Kitsune himself. Naruto was not dead. She was convinced over that. She would not be convinced otherwise unless someone showed her his corpse.

-

And Sakura was right. She was the only one who did not believe they were dead.

As Naruto and Gaara were brought into the hospital, Sasuke was just coming out. He nearly fainted as he saw them. Naruto spotted the Uchiha as well, and smiled a tear-full smile at him.

"Hi Aniki", he said weakly.

"Naruto…?" Sasuke said quietly.

"The one and only", he answered and that was all Sasuke needed.

He rushed forward just as Kakashi let the man down. They embraced tightly and Sasuke sobbed into Naruto's shoulder.

Gaara was let down and Shikaku said:

"You better go and see your brother."

Gaara nodded and with the help of Jiraiya, he got to his brother's room. The black-haired man pushed the door open and limped inside. Kankuro looked up and stopped. He recognized that person.

"G… Gaara…?"

Gaara limped faster and collapsed onto the puppeteer's bed. The younger man sobbed wildly and said:

"I'm so sorry I let you believe I was dead! I'm sorry!"

Kankuro looked at his younger brother, a brother he had thought was dead. Then he grabbed the man and pulled him into a fierce hug.

"Don't you ever scare me like that again!" Kankuro growled as tears came down. "Next time I'll kill you myself!"

Gaara promised, over and over again and Kankuro let himself smile. All was well now.

-

Iruka almost ran into the hospital as he had heard from Kakashi. The Copy-nin had a hard time catching up with the brunette, who only had one thought in his mind; get to his son.

Kakashi came in with Kisame and Itachi and said to the waiting brunette:

"Room 51."

With that, Iruka rushed ahead as the three followed.

He pushed the door open and heard a chorus of yells:

"Iruka!"

The brunette walked in with his eyes trained on Naruto and Gaara. The room was filled with people. Tsunade had apparently letting everyone who wanted to meet the two former Jinchuurikis in the big room. Currently there were over twenty people in the room. Naruto got up and collapsed into Iruka's arms with a big grin.

"Hi", he said and looked at the brunette. "Please don't kill me."

"Now when you've come back to life, why would I want you dead?" Iruka asked silently as he hugged his son close. "Gaara, come over here this instant!"

The man got up and was hugged as well. The chatting in the room began once more but Iruka said:

"Now there are two people who have been very anxious to meet you. Let's go outside for a bit."

The two agreed. They went outside and were met by Kakashi, Kisame and Itachi. Naruto got to the two latter first, and carefully touched Itachi's area around the eyes. They were red and had finger-nails marks. Naruto's hand, now not having so long claws, was trembling and he said:

"I made you do this?"

"It's not your fault", Itachi said with a lump in his throat. "I just… I just wanted the pain to go away."

Naruto was pressed flushed against the Uchiha for a moment before Itachi let him go and said:

"I think you and Kisame need to talk."

Naruto looked at the fishlike man and nodded. Itachi went to Gaara, Iruka and Kakashi while the two stayed right where they were. Naruto looked up into the black eyes and took Kisame's hand.

"You've been crying", the white-haired man said softly.

"_Is that so strange?"_

"No, not really", the younger man said.

"_Why did you leave?"_

"We thought we were dying", Naruto said with tears shining in his eyes. "I don't know why we left. It just seemed right at the moment."

Kisame closed his eyes and braced himself against the wall. Naruto leaned his head onto the man's shoulder and continued:

"But just before they came and got us… I just wanted home, even if I had been dying. I wanted to die somewhere safe. I wanted home to you guys."

Kisame pulled the younger man close and said with his raspy voice:

"Don't do that again…"

"I promise."

-

Tsunade opened the door to room 51 in the middle of the night to check. The room was the biggest in the hospital, able to hold twenty people. Currently, that was the amount of people sleeping in there or even a few people more. She walked along the beds and watched them all.

Kankuro and Sasuke had claimed the window spot, and was lying buried in a cosy cave of blankets. They looked both much better than before. Naruto and Gaara lay in the opposite bed and she found herself smoothing down the covers and tucking them in. For a moment, they had been lost and now gained only thanks to Shino. She turned her eyes to him who was lying in the bed next to the two former Jinchuurikis. He was cocooned by his two old teammates and looked absolutely comfortable with that. He was snoozing quietly with his head in the crook of Kiba's neck.

Neji was lying alone on his bed but Gai was dozing off in the chair next to him. Lee and Sakura had fallen asleep in the bed next to the Hyuuga's. Shikamaru was there as well, flanked by his father and Chouji. Ino had fallen asleep on the bed next to him with Inoichi close. Tenten was lying in a bed a bit away, next to the one where Kisame had fallen asleep. Itachi had his head propped up in his hand and he was breathing slowly. The Godaime smiled softly; he had not had a decent sleep for a while and deserved it. Tsunade tore her eyes away from them and chuckled as she saw even Ibiki and Jiraiya had fallen to sleep in the room. She smoothed the covers one last time on the two former Jinchuurikis bed before she left the room.

All was well, and was going to continue to be well.

Tbc

Hah, I made the story happier!

Only the Epilogue left now. Hope you enjoyed this shitty short sequel to The Chibi accident and Kakashi's discovery so far. The Epilogue will only inform you of the future, and will be pretty short.

Later,

Tiro


	6. Epilogue

**Kuroi Kage VS. Konoha Shinobi**

Epilogue. Naruto and Gaara are around 28 now.

**Pairings**: KakIru, GaaNaru and SasukeKankuro.

**Summary**: The peace in Konoha is about to be destroyed. Who are the Kuroi Kage, and what is their purpose? Do they want the Jinchuurikis in Konoha, or do they want more than that? What will the shinobis in Konoha do to protect those they love?

"Talking"

'_Thinking'_

"_Talking in minds" _(Naruto and Gaara whenever they talk to Kyuubi or Shukaku in private or in this case, when Hoshigaki Kisame speaks with someone telepathically)

"**Demons talking"**

_Flashback _(In flashbacks, both _'Thinking' _and _"Talking in minds" _can be used)

-

**Epilogue**

It was a beautiful sunrise in Konoha. The sky coloured the sky red, orange and purple. The villagers had yet to wake up, except for the new odds shinobis who took over the nightshift from their friends.

In a house there was still quiet. In the master bedroom lay two people intertwined with each other. One with brown hair and one with silver-grey. Umino Iruka moved a bit and yawned. He blinked his eyes open and looked at his lover, Hatake Kakashi. The Copy-nin was still in deep sleep. Iruka sat up after he had moved out from Kakashi's arms and stretched.

"Iruka", Kakashi whined and the brunette chuckled.

"It's morning", he said gently.

"But we have the day off", the man said.

"And we're preparing for a day outside", Iruka reminded his lover. "Now everyone is gathered here and we all got a day off. That means we are going to spend it with each other."

Kakashi muttered but sat up as well.

-

Down the hall were two more bedrooms and a guestroom. In one bedroom, that was painted a warm brown colour lay two people in deep sleep as well. One had pure white hair while the other black as the night. Their names were Uzumaki Naruto and Sabaku no Gaara.

Naruto, who was a morning-person (most of the time), began to stir. He sat up groggily and the blankets fell of him. He had a long and slender body with feminine hips and shoulders. He lifted one delicate hand and pushed the hair from his face with a yawn. He gathered a blanket around his middle and slowly rose up. His back hurt a lot. Damn Gaara to always make love so hard. He felt the semen slowly trickle down from his rear and bundled the blanket tighter around him.

Naruto took his clothes and got outside. He went into the bathroom for a long shower. After him Gaara looked on, a bit amused as well with hungry eyes. The urge to take Naruto was always stronger in the mornings. Gaara got up, took his clothes as well and snuck into the bathroom after his lover. The white-haired man would not protest, no matter what the shower turned out to be.

-

In the second bedroom, with the colours of deep blue, one of the occupants was already awake. He sat dressed in a loose kimono on the window sill and looked out. His raven hair was gathered up in a ponytail but was not that long. He had to ask Sakura to cut it again.

Uchiha Sasuke sighed and looked at the sunrise as he heard Sabaku no Kankuro, his long-time lover, woke up. He got down from the sill and crunched down next to Kankuro. He let a hand travel on the man's slim waist and Kankuro moaned.

"Morning", he said gently to the older man.

The puppeteer turned to look at him with a smile. Sasuke smiled and gave him a kiss. He let the blanket fall away from the other man's body and his eyes roamed over the naked skin while his hand settled on the puppeteer's stomach. He inhaled Kankuro's scent and said:

"Let's get up."

Kankuro sat up and gathered the blanket around him again with a blush.

"Still after almost fifteen years you still blush whenever I see you naked", the Uchiha said.

"I can't help it, you pervert!"

Sasuke's soft laughter echoed in the room.

-

The guestroom was quiet, and still dark. There was two beds, but only was occupied. Uchiha Itachi, Sasuke's elder brother, was lying and currently watching his best friend, Hoshigaki Kisame, sleep. Sleeping in two beds had proved to be rather impossible for them, so Itachi and Kisame always shared one bed. He watched the taller man's chest rise up and down with a soft smile. He reached out and touched the man's cheek. Kisame immediately moved a bit; he was always so sensitive against touch. Itachi let one finger follows the gills he had and then down his throat, over the ugly scar that had been there for so many years. Kisame still did not like to talk too much.

Itachi sighed and brushed his lips on Kisame's forehead, a gesture he had developed over the years just like Sasuke still did on Naruto.

He got up from the bed and put on his pants. He already had a T-shirt on, so with that he left the guestroom and walked to the kitchen.

-

Iruka was cooking lunch for their little day out as Itachi stepped into the kitchen.

"Good morning Itachi", the brunette said.

"Morning."

He saw that breakfast was already on the table so he sat down. He was soon followed by a newly showered Naruto and Gaara. The white-haired man said to Iruka:

"I need to cut my nails again."

The Uchiha took a look at Naruto's frightening claws and said:

"I can do it."

"Would you mind doing it now?" Naruto said and held up his hands to look at the nails himself. "I can't really eat breakfast like this. Unless I want to massacre the food."

Itachi stood up and took a scissor. He dragged Naruto a bit from the table and began. The white-haired man was talking to Iruka in the meantime. Gaara sat down and began to eat breakfast and Sasuke came in. He was greeted by the four and sat down as well. He had changed from his kimono to a pair of black shorts and a deep-blue T-shirt.

Soon had Itachi finished and Naruto grinned. After the incident when Naruto had been 18, his nails continued to grow into claws every now and then. Naruto sat down by Sasuke, who did his usual ritual and gave the man a kiss on his forehead.

Soon they were all in the kitchen except for Kisame. Itachi got up and walked to check on his friend. He opened the door and found Kisame still asleep. The taller man was usually a morning-person so Itachi went inside and sat down.

"Kisame?"

The man moved a bit and the Uchiha shook his friend's shoulder. Black eyes opened sleepily and Itachi continued:

"Tired?"

Kisame nodded briefly while he sat up.

"How long were you up last night?" the shorter man asked.

"_Don't know"_, Kisame replied. _"Late."_

"Come on, breakfast is already served and everyone is up", Itachi said. "You can take a nap later."

-

As they walked outside later on, the sun was shining upon the village. They were going to the waterfall they had been to fifteen years ago. Not Itachi and Kisame though, but they would soon see it.

On their way there, they bumped into some people they knew and chatted for a while. Then they finally met some more familiar faces. Shikamaru and Chouji came walking down the street, Shikamaru staring up at the sky as usual and Chouji making sure the Nara would not trip. They were both Jounins and Shikamaru was usually one of the people who held in the Jounin Exams. Chouji helped out in the Chuunin Exams. The two of them always made missions with each other.

"Shika?" Naruto said. "Who the hell woke you up?"

"Haha, funny", the Nara said and hit Naruto on the shoulder. "I do rise up early in the mornings, whitey."

"Yeah I believe that whenever I want to", the white-haired man said with a huff. "And don't call me whitey, you pineapple head!"

"Well, we're running a bit late", Chouji said with a laugh as Shikamaru and Naruto began a glaring contest, "so we have to go."

"Where to?" Iruka asked.

"Breakfast with Ino", the man said. "And if we're late, she'll give us hell."

"She's just a Chuunin and she still kicks you asses? Sad", Sasuke said with a shake of his head.

Shikamaru and Chouji only laughed at that and they parted.

-

The next was a whole group of people. Old team 8 and team Gai with Sakura apparently had a breakfast gathering at a restaurant. Shino raised his hand in greeting as he saw them. Kiba turned around when his friend had raised his hand and said:

"Well, good morning on you!"

He and Shino were both Special Jounins and usually handled the scouting around the village.

Now the others turned around as well and they all greeted on them. Hinata and Sakura were both professional medic-nins and the Hyuuga girl could even heal better than Tsunade herself. Lee was a Jounin as was Tenten and they usually handled some of the toughest missions together. Lee and Sakura had been married for five years now.

Neji was a Special Jounin and on some occasions he joined Kiba and Shino in scouting.

"Morning", Naruto replied to the Inuzuka.

"Where're you heading?" Neji asked.

"Se-cr-et", the white-haired man replied and bounced away as Neji playfully lashed out at him.

"Meanie", Kiba called out and some joined in.

"Just spending a little time together", Iruka said. "Just as you're doing."

"And we need to go", Naruto declared and dragged on Gaara's arm.

They parted as well.

-

Ibiki, Genma and Anko just waved at them from their place at a restaurant. They continued to walk and finally they reached the clearing. The waterfall was still as beautiful as ever, and Naruto was tempted to go and swim in the lake.

They spread out the blankets and fell on them. Kisame only needed a few minutes to fall asleep and Itachi followed his friend's example after a few moments. Naruto was sitting in the high grass a bit away and ran his hand over the swaying grass. Gaara sat down behind him and said:

"You're fascinated with grass now?"

"I guess", the white-haired man replied dreamily.

"You're tired", Gaara deadpanned. "There is no other answer."

"It's YOUR fault I'm tired."

"Well, sorry."

"Help me fall asleep?"

The black-haired man smiled and wriggled to get more comfortable. He then pulled Naruto back against his chest and the white-haired man relaxed. Gaara let his eyes roam over his 'family'.

Sasuke and Kankuro were by the water, playing around despite being adults. Sometimes you needed to relax and drop the responsibilities for a while, and just fool around.

Iruka and Kakashi was drinking tea and were talking softly. The Copy-nin slid his arm around Iruka's neck and pulled him in for a kiss.

Even though Kisame was bigger than the oldest Uchiha, it was always the taller man who was being embraced by Itachi. The man had moved to let Kisame's head rest under his chin and the Uchiha had his arms around the fishlike man's shoulders.

Gaara looked down at Naruto and said:

"Can you still feel Kyuubi?"

The white-haired man smiled and opened his purple eyes. They flashed red for a moment.

"At a nice day like this", Naruto said, "he is here. He's lying here, basking in the sun. He and Shukaku."

"Are you sure about that?"

"I can feel him", the slightly smaller man continued and looked at Gaara. "I can feel him right here."

He put a hand on his stomach where the destroyed seal was. Gaara smiled down at Naruto.

"Can't you see them?" Naruto said and pointed. "They're just over there."

The black-haired man looked where his lover was pointing. For a moment, he swore he saw an orange-haired and a black-haired man stand hand in hand. Red eyes meeting golden. Chakras clashing with each other. Two demons basking in the sunlight, enjoying their freedom.

Purple met green-gold. Eyes flashing blue and green. Naruto smiled at Gaara and said:

"To think we almost lost all of this. It would have been a shame, right?"

"Yeah", Gaara whispered. "It would."

The white-haired grinned and Gaara grinned back.

'_Even if we would have lost all of this, your smile would have been enough. But you're right; missing this bliss would have been a shame.'_

Kyuubi tilted his head as he watched the two. Shukaku squeezed his Kitsune's hand and said:

"**Happy now?"**

"**Yep."**

"**Let's go home then."**

Kyuubi took a last look and then replied:

"**Yeah… Let's go home."**

With a swirl of power, two of the greatest demons disappeared without even disturbing the resting people.

The sun shone that day, and will shine forever.

-

**The Final End**

Thanks to those who've read this story.

Later,

Tiro


End file.
